Legend of Zelda: The Triumvirate
by FireStar Granivolus
Summary: In the magical land of Hyrule, there resides a Forbidden Forest. Inside the forest, there is a community of little children that never grow up. Among them is a young boy without a faerie. When a freak creature and a Faerie visits his home one normal day, he is sent hurtling into an adventure of epic proportions, which will determine the fate of the entire land... and the future.
1. Arc 1: The Forbidden Forest

**A/N: This is my first story ever! I'd like to thank all those people who helped me on my story as I worked these long eleven months to get it started: Mrs. Peggy, who let me borrow a N64 with version 1.0 or 1.1 of Ocarina of Time, in which without it, I would never have been able to start this, Mrs. Almquist, my English teacher, who did the edits and made sure my story didn't look like another dumb kid's stupid idea to popularize a already-popular game, and the Tumblr artist Tarokujo, also my neighbor and friend who worked hard on the cover photo for this story! And now, with thanks done, I present to you the biggest project I have ever done in my life: Legend of Zelda: The Triumvirate!**

The Forbidden Forest was a cursed place, the bards of Hyrule had said. Go in there, they said, and you die. Or worse. This meant nothing to the cloaked person who entered the Lost Woods at dawn.

It was hard to tell the figure's gender or even race, as the cloak completely covered its body. It strode purposefully, as if knowing where to go; for indeed the figure knew where to go and what to do, and by noon it had stopped, having arrived at the base of a large tree, which seemed older than the forest itself.

"Great Deku Tree! It is I, the ambassador from the other world!" The figure cried, cupping a hand on the side of its face.

From the voice, one could tell the figure was a male. The hand, having been shown briefly when the sleeve slipped down to the wrist, definitely would not have been recognizable to even the best of Hyrule's creature experts. The hand seemed like a cross of a human and a dragon; The formation was similar to a human, but it was covered in golden scales. The fingers flexed and bent the same way as a human's, but instead of fingernails, the ends of each finger contained a medium sized, very sharp claw. The figure, whatever he was, was definitely not of Hyrulean origin.

The figure waited, but no response came. _Did I arrive too early?_ He wondered. _I'm sure I got the time right…_

Just then, a melodious music began to play, capturing his interest. The music sounded beautiful, he noted. _Almost as if it had some power of its own. A power to lift spirits._ Then he frowned. _Wait, is that an Ocarina?_ His mood went from cheerful to dark again. He started to remember another ocarina, one that—

"My most humble apology for making thee wait." Boomed a large voice, jolting the figure to the present. "I saw thee vexed out, so I hath asked a Kokiri girl to playeth a song. Doth thee like it?" The mysterious creature saw that the tree was moving—it moved its bark around to produce a face and create sounds, which would translate into the Hyrulean language by magic.

"The music is beautiful, I'll grant you that," The figure said. "But the song is played on an ocarina, which reminds me of… then."

The bark of the tree made a sigh like sound. "Doth thou has't proof that thee art... a Dragonian? Thy proof is necessary." The Deku Tree asked. The figure gave a threatening growl, but obliged.

As his cloak fell away, the scales on his hand—as well as the rest of his body—flashed in the sunlight. He had the appearance of a bipedal dragon, with his feet like his hands—similar to a human's, but had the characteristics of a dragon. He had sharp talons for toe nails, his tail was the same length as one of his legs, wrapped loosely around his body, the tail ending in a sharp and dangerous barb, and a beautiful pair of wings, each twice the length of his arms, the web a darker gold than his scales, while the bony ridges were a lighter shade. His eyes were pale silver—much like the moonlight. The rest of his face was completely dragon-like, except the tip of the snout was a lot closer to the face. The creature—experts would call him a freak of nature—was right to be unhappy. With the sunlight reflecting off his scales, he was visible to everyone for nearly a whole mile.

"My name is Julian," The creature said. "And I'm sixteen in Dragonian years. Is that enough proof for you?" The Deku Tree sighed. "Thank Nayru. I just needeth two more things ere I wilst pray pardon me the situation. First, a student. She hath been intrigued by the creatures that roam this land, and wanteth to maketh a bestiary on them." He was silent for a long moment, which, to the relief and dismay of Julian, the music ended.

Then, the Deku tree spoke once more, sounding weaker all of a sudden. "Navi… Navi, where art you? Come hither…" A small blue sphere with a pair of wings descended from the branches of the tree. _A faerie…_ Julian realized seeing the faint outline of a woman against the bright light faeries usually portray.

"Great Deku Tree? What's wrong?" The faerie called Navi asked, concerned.

"Oh, Navi the faerie… Listen to my words… Doust thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm… So evil we needeth a dragonian" Julian nodded, and Navi turned to look at him.

"But It'll pass, right?" She asked, turning back to the Deku Tree. "This place has always been safe from monsters and evil. Nothing evil has managed to penetrate our wards, which are strengthened by you. Surely nothing bad would happen here… Right?"

The Deku Tree sighed. "Malevolent forces, even now, are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. Thee art correct. For so long, the Kokiri Forest, our home and source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world… But… Before this tremendous power, even my own is as nothing... It seems the time has come for the Boy Without a Faerie to begin his journey…"

Julian was confused. _Surely all Kokiri had a guardian faerie, right?_ "The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of truth and justice…" the Deku Tree continued. "Julian, this is the second thing I needeth… Navi…Julian…go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me… I do not have much time left."

The words hit Navi deep in her gut, and even Julian reeled in shock. The Great Deku Tree was dying?! The memories Navi had of him…

 _Navi saw herself, sitting on the "nose" of the Great Deku Tree. They were talking… Navi was learning about the forest… hearing stories along with the other Kokiri about the world beyond… She saw how he raised her, supplying his own leaves to give her the life energy she needed to become an adult… When he started tutoring her on the monsters that roamed the Lost Woods… Even whenever she got in trouble for wandering into the Lost Woods by herself, without telling anyone, getting lost and having to call for the Great Deku Tree to get her out…_

Suddenly, all these memories, as well as her time with him, became precious. "No!" She cried. "I don't want you to die!" She started to cry. The tree seemed to smile sadly.

"It'll be alright, Navi. Fly now, Navi! Fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!"

Grudgingly, she turned and followed Julian. Julian reached into a satchel he had and picked the cloak. As he pulled it back on, he said to Navi, "Continue onward. I will follow you, but I must stay hidden from the Kokiri. They do not need contact with outsiders… yet."

O-0-O

Soon they managed to find the building where the boy was. Even though it was noon, the boy was still asleep.

"Wake up!" Navi shouted, banging into the boy. "Link, get up!" he just simply rolled over.

"Link? How do you know his name?" Julian asked.

"Well, duh, there is only one boy that has no Guardian faerie, and that's Link."

Julian sighed. "Regardless of his name, can Hyrule's fate really rest on the shoulders of such a lazy boy?"

Navi started ramming into Link. "Link, the Great Deku Tree has summoned you! Din… WAKE UP!" with that, she rammed into Link's nose with her full might, causing his eyes to flicker. "Huh… Wha?" he said, then noticed the dragonian and faerie. "YAAAH!" he screamed, jumping off the bed and grabbing a jar. "Holy Farore! Who are you people?!" he demanded, preparing to throw the jar at Julian.

"My name is Julian." The Dragonian said calmly. "And this is my student on Monster Biology and your partner, Navi."

Navi paused, missing a wing beat. "You'll tutor me on the monsters outside the Forest?!" She said. Julian nodded. Navi was very happy, until she remembered that the Great Deku Tree was dying. "Whatever." Navi said. "We need to get going, right now!"

Link finally put the jar down, but there was still mistrust in his eyes. "I'm only following you because of the Deku Tree. I swear to Nayru, if you try anything…"

Their happy introductions done, they left the house. As Julian was about to exit the house, he saw that a Kokiri girl was running toward Link's house. "Yahoo! Hi, Link!" She shouted. Julian hissed in frustration and retreated back into the house. Suspicious, but getting the message, Link climbed down the ladder to his house.

"Wow, a faerie!" She said when Link approached. "Finally, a faerie came to you, Link! Now you're a true Kokiri now, Link!" Link, remembering that Julian said Navi was to be his partner, smiled. "Yeah." He said. "I'm glad to finally have a faerie, too! I wish I could chat with you, but my faerie says the Great Deku Tree summoned me."

She cocked her head in puzzlement. "Is that right? The Great Deku Tree summoned you? It's quite an honor to talk to the Great Deku Tree! I'll wait for you here. Get going! Go see the Great Deku Tree!" She exclaimed. Julian, knowing that she would wait a long while here, decided to go out through Link's back window.

"So who was that?" He asked Link.

"I won't tell you anything, except that her name is Saria." Link said. "Lay a finger on her, and I swear— "

"Just cut it already, okay? I'm not out to get you." Julian said in exasperation. Link just continued to glare.

 _What is wrong with him?_ Julian griped to himself _Sure, I broke into his house, but he didn't even have a_ door _, for Nayru's sake..._

Unfortunately for him, Link, and even Navi, their troubles were just beginning.


	2. The Boy Without A Faerie

**A/N: Second Chapter! For those of you who enjoyed chapter 1, do know I'm going to aim for a new chapter every Monday. But all in all, enjoy the story!**

Stats of Link: Level: 0 Health: 1.5 Defense: 1.5 Magic: 0 Attack: 0 Spells: 0

"Hey, You! Mr. No faerie! What's your business with the Great Deku Tree?" Said a boy blocking Link's way into the Great Deku Tree's Grotto. "Without a faerie, You're not even a real man!" Julian, who was hiding in the cliff ridge above them (much to Link's suspiciousness), almost gave his position away laughing. "You want to know what it's like to be a 'man?'" He wanted to say. "Then go through what I had to go through these past four years." but of course he said nothing, and he was able to contain his laughter.

"Hey! I do have a faerie!" Link protested, pointing at Navi, who was resting on a rock nearby. "And according to her, the Great Deku Tree summoned me!" He refrained from mentioning that there was also a creepy non-human who was with her, mostly because Julian said that he would have to kill anybody who learned of him. And, unfortunately, with the way the Kokiri Forest Village was built, those "witnesses" would be everyone.

The other boy looked shocked. "Whaaaaaaat?!" He said, then pouted. "Why would he send for you, and not me, the great Mido? This isn't funny… I don't believe a single word! You aren't even fully equipped! How will you even be able to help the Great Deku tree without a sword or shield ready?"

Link frowned. "I don't see either one of those on you, either." He noted. Julian snickered silently. Mido started tapping his foot in frustration and turned his face away.

"What? Well, you're right, but… if you want to pass through here, you should get both of those! Sheesh!"

Link sighed and turned away. Once he got beyond Mido's eyesight Julian came flying down next to him. "I heard the conversation." He said after a while. "This should buy you a shield." He handed Link two red Rupees. Link drew his hand back quickly, then threw the rupees back at him.

"I can get it myself, thank you." He snarled.

"Whatever works for you." Julian said, shrugging. "But listen here; I don't care whether or not you like me. I'm going to be at your side for quite a while, so better get used to it. I don't know much of the forest, so you're on your own for the sword. But I will tell you, I know that the shop here supplies Deku Shields, but they are expensive. Good luck" With that, he flew back to the ridge and lay there, taking a nap.

"... you _do_ realize you're broke, right?" Navi asked Link. Now that Link was thinking more clearly without Julian around, he realized that Navi was right; he had no money at all. He looked around and found the red rupees lying in the ground, then pocketed them. After buying a shield from the store, Link went to Saria and told her of his predicament.

"Mido won't let you see the Great Deku Tree?" She said.

"Yep." Link replied.

"Ohhh… That bum! I don't know why he's so mean to everyone, especially you!"

"Yeah, I hear you."

"... But what he said was right, though. Strange things have been happening to the forest lately… you better be ready for anything!"

"Yeah. I was told I need a sword and shield. I already got the shield, but no luck on the sword. Do you know where one is?"

"The Deku Tree once told me that a sword was hidden here somewhere… but that's all I know."

"Thanks, Saria! You're the best!"

O-0-O

Link went asking around the forest about such a sword, but no one knew where it was, only rumors. After asking around for two hours, he finally deduced that it would be somewhere near the Know-it-all's house.

"Okay, so the sword should be somewhere around here…" Navi said as Link crawled through a hole and entered a small, maze-like grotto.

"There shouldn't be any danger here, right? I mean, the way this area is, there shouldn't be any traps…" Link said. Suddenly, a boulder started rolling toward him. He screamed and ran through the maze, trying to outrun the boulder.

He rounded one more corner and the boulder rolled on by, and as he gasped for his breath he noticed a small chest sitting on a stump. "Hey, this must be where the sword is!" Said Navi, appearing at Link's side.

He frowned. "Where were you when that boulder was chasing me?" he asked.

Navi bonked his head. "Are you stupid?" She asked. "I flew up where it was _safe!_ " Link sighed and opened the chest.

Inside was a small sword, surprisingly clean, despite the fact it was lying there for who knows how long. "Wow…" Navi breathed, entranced by the cleanliness of the sword. Link picked up the sword with his left hand. "Oh boy…" He sighed, knowing what was next. Soon, the forest was filled with screaming as Link ran through the maze once more, the boulder rolling on obliviously.

O-0-O

"Hey, Mido! I'm equipped now!" Link said smugly sometime later.

Mido looked shocked. "Is that the Kokiri Sword?! He said. "Farore!" A couple of tense seconds went by, then finally he continued. "Well, even with all that stuff, you're still a wimp, huh? Whether you have a faerie or not, equipped or not, I'll never accept you as one of us!" As Mido walked away, Link heard him mutter to himself, "Shoot! How did _you_ get to be the favorite of Saria and the Deku Tree, huh?!"

"Finally," Julian grumbled as Link came into a small cliff valley. "Hey, I forgot to give you this earlier. You'll need it." he handed Link a large knapsack, which was currently empty.

"What's this supposed to do?" Link asked, holding the bag as if it were a bomb.

Julian snorted. "It's supposed to store things, genius. By magic, you can hold up to more objects in this than you normally could. Rupees aren't going to work well inside, as they'll get lost. Now let's hurry, we already wasted enough time running around playing fetch-quest."

O-0-O

"Great Deku Tree… We're back!" Navi called as she, Link, and Julian entered the Deku Tree's grotto. She then flew up to the Deku Tree.

"Oh Navi… Julian… Thoust hast returned…" The Great Deku Tree said. "Link… Welcome. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say to thee… Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless and full of nightmares… As servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it… Verily, Thoust has felt it. Link… The time has come to test thy courage… I have been cursed… I need you to break the curse with your wisdom, power, and courage… Dost thou courageous enough to undertake this task, even though it risks thy life?"

Link hesitated. "Well, whether or not you're going in, I'm going to help him." Julian said. Navi nodded in agreement.

After a little while, Link finally nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."

"Then enter, brave Link, and you two as well, Julian and Navi." The Great Deku Tree said, creating a large opening where his mouth would be. "Navi the faerie, you must aid Link with your wisdom. Link, listen to Julian… no matter how harsh the decision must be. I trust him with the fate of Hyrule, as I hope will you. Julian, teach Link in thy form of combat, as well as teach Navi in the strengths and weaknesses of the enemies to come. Now… hurry…"

And so the Trio entered the Great Deku Tree.


	3. Inside The Great Deku Tree: Upper Levels

**A/N Third chapter! (Okay, I'll stop listing chapter numbers XD) We're finally onto the first dungeon! I try to make them two-part, but every now and then (at least one time) the dungeon will be in one full chapter. This isn't that case. If you guys wonder what the stats things are, it's technically our progress through the story. I used it to mark general location throughout the story, and I decided to utilize it as a nice story element.**

Stats of Link: Level: 1.99 Health: 1.5 Defense: 1.5 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

They found themselves inside a very large, circular chamber. The hollow of the Trunk was so tall they could barely see ceiling. In the center of the ground level was a large spider web, thick enough to support the Trio's weight. Far below the web, the sound of running water pervaded the room. Three Deku Babas, plant-like carnivores that were composed of a stalk and snapping jaws, surrounded the web.

"Whoa!" Link yelped as one lunged at him, nearly snapping his arm off.

Julian Laughed. "They can't hurt you unless you try." he said. "If you cut it open with your sword, the body can be used as a Deku Stick and the head as a Deku Nut." He demonstrated by swinging a hand, claws extended, slicing one of the Deku Baba in half. Its head immediately begin to harden, and within moments there was only a long stick, twice as long as Link's sword, and a small brown nut.

"Now, you try."

Link readied his sword and approached the second one cautiously. It immediately lunged forward, nearly snapping Link's right hand. He flinched and backed away a bit, unslung his Deku Shield from his back, then walked back. It lunged again, but this time Link thrust his Deku Shield forward, breaking the plant's jaw. Link swung his sword, and the Deku Baba went straight and rigid. He swung again, and it fell over, forming a Deku Stick and a Deku Nut.

Link climbed the vines across the room, and after he pulled himself onto a platform about ten feet above the web, he realized something. "Hey, guys, I have an Idea." hetold the others. Before either Navi or Julian could reply, he backed up a bit, and jumped off the ledge and onto the web. The web bent, looked as if it were about to break, then snapped back upward and flung Link into the opposite wall.

"Okay, that was a bad idea…" Link muttered as Navi snickered and Julian face palmed.

After climbing back up, the trio continued scaling the tree, this time walking along some wooden platforms. "Hey, check this out." Julian said pointing at a chest. Link opened it to find five pieces of parchment, which contained a bunch of odd shapes on it.

"This is a map." Navi explained, smiling as she remembered fond moments. "Me and some other faeries went and explored in here a long time ago. I was one of the map creators!" She then frowned. "However, faeries won't be able to enjoy the Great Deku Tree's maze-like hollow if he's dead. Come on! We need to hurry!" Link started to climb some more vines, but suddenly screamed and let go when some skeletal spiders started to charge toward him.

"What are those?!" He yelped, quickly brushing one off his legs. It scuttled back onto the wall, where it began to patrol around.

"Those are Skullwalltulas" Navi said as Julian snickered. "They're relatively harmless, unless you invade their territory. Let's follow the platforms a little while longer; maybe we can find another way to climb up."

They climbed a little higher and found a vertical sliding door. Link looked confused. "What the heck is that?" He asked.

As Julian's dragon-like jaw dropped in shock, Navi quickly explained. "A door is… well… a barrier between rooms. Sometimes you can't open some because they're locked, but the ones that can be are usually opened by doorknobs or pulling it up, like this one."

Link managed to open the door, and Navi and Julian followed after, while Julian muttered about "technologically backward fools."

As the door closed behind them, suddenly a portcullis slammed down on it. "That isn't good…" Link murmured.

Suddenly, a small creature covered in leaves burst out of a large flower and spat Deku nuts at the trio. Julian ducked as one Deku Nut smacked Link's face. "It's a Deku Scrub!" Julian said. "It will hide in the flower if you get too close, but you can bounce back the seeds it spits at you! Use your shield!"

The Deku Scrub spat another seed at Link, and he yelped and held his shield up. The Deku Nut bounced off and flew into a wall. "You gotta aim!" Navi shouted. Link went through some calculations, and managed to bounce a nut back toward the Scrub, hitting it square on. It squealed in pain and tried to run away, but Julian quickly ran forward and grabbed the scrub by its neck. The portcullis raised, and Link noticed that there was another door opposite of where they entered.

"Ow-ow-ow!" the Deku scrub yelped as Julian's claws scratched at his neck. "Please forgive me, Master! If I give you a clue, will you let me go?"

Julian cocked his head for a little bit, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea, then nodded. "Fire away."

"When you jump off a high cliff, if you roll forward, you won't get hurt from the fall. I can't guarantee it will work, though, if the cliff is really, really high." the Scrub said. He then giggled a little when Julian let go. "Well, try it if you're feeling bold!" he started laughing at the sheer joy of being free, and ran off.

Link was confused. "Why'd you let him go?" He asked. "That information was useless."

Julian blinked in surprise. "It was?" he asked. "Wow. I let him go because I thought you'd find the information extremely relevant, like learning about doors. I had no Idea you already knew about that."

Link was silent for a little bit, trying to find a snappy comeback, and after failing to, just fumed and stomped over to the second door, Navi following him and snickering. Julian just smirked and followed them. Link found a chest in the room, and he temporarily forgot about his recent battle of wits. He jumped across a stone platform and opened the chest. However, before he could check to see what was inside, he heard a rumbling noise. He turned around to find that the stone platform had collapsed.

"Oops."

Inside the chest was an old slingshot. The string and wood still looked strong, however. Also inside was a pellet bag, which held about thirty Deku Seeds. Link then turned back toward the door, only to find that, with the platform gone, he was unable to get out of the room.

"I suppose you're not going to carry me back to the door, are you?" Link told Julian grumpily.

"Nayru, no." He said, munching on a assortment of leaves.

"Wait-where did you get that?"

"It's a small Kokiri delicacy that was made by faeries. I found it in a chest above a ledge off to the right of you. I hadn't eaten in awhile, so I thought I could enjoy this. Did you know that these foods can last centuries? It's brilliant what these faeries can make."

Link sighed and turned around to inspect the room. There was nothing here except for bark, wood, web, and-

"Link, look over here!" Navi said excitedly. Link peered over at her and saw that she was trying to indicate toward a ladder that had been covered with web. "It seems you can shoot the web to make this ladder fall, allowing you to exit the room!"

Link looked at his new Slingshot, then readied a pellet. He once owned a slingshot himself, and was one of the best shooters in Kokiri Village before Mido stole it from him and broke it. It had been a few years, so Link's skill was a little bit rusty. It took a couple of tries, but he was able to shoot the web, breaking the web, and causing the ladder to fall.

"Good Job. Now let's get out of here." Julian said.

O-0-O

After they had re-entered the main chamber, they went back to where they found the map and shot down the Skullwalltulas. After climbing up the vines, they found themselves in the top floor of the chamber. Web covered the walls, and a few openings lead all the way down to the floor. Naturally, Link decided to open another door that was there. A portcullis slammed down on it as the door closed.

Inside was a large chamber, with small circles embedded in the ground. A torch was resting off to their left, mysteriously looking as if it had recently been set aflame. On their right was a small pressure switch.

"This is a Skulltula!" Navi said, zooming over and pointing at a large spider that was nesting on one of the two grooves. "Its soft belly is its weak point!"

"I see." Link said. He then stepped on the switch, and several platforms rose up from the embedded circles. Link quickly hopped from one to another until he reached yet another large chest. Opening it revealed a compass, but something was off; the compass wasn't pointing north, but rather west.

"The compass is imbued with magic" Navi explained. "It will point to the nearest chest in the casted area. Once you leave the area, however, or if the area has no treasure chests, then it turns into back into a normal compass."

Link turned around to find that the circles had went back to their original position.

"Well, back to the beginning." he deduced.

He followed the compass, which led to the alcove that the aforementioned Skulltula was guarding. Link killed it and opened the chest, which contained another serving of that food that Julian ate earlier.

"Whoa, Link, look! A Golden Skulltula!" Julian said, mesmerized by a small spider behind the chest. Link frowned. "Isn't that another Skullwalltula?" he asked. Navi shook her head.

"That is a Golden Skulltula." she said. "They are the basically the solid form of a curse. If they exist, then somewhere in Hyrule there is a cursed person. They are creatures born from dark magic; you should kill it." Link decided to take Navi's words as fact and swung his sword at the Skulltula, killing it. Suddenly, a small golden token popped out of its chest.

"That's a Skulltula token" Julian explained. "It proves that you killed a Golden Skulltula! Keep it for the future, you'll never know when you'll need It." He tossed Link a bag, in which Link put the token in.

Back at the entrance to the room, they saw that the portcullis was still there. "How do we even open this?" Navi asked.

Link pointed at the unlit torch. "It probably involves lighting that!" he said. Julian grinned and stuck a claw in the ashes, and started rubbing it very hard. Soon, a spark of flame erupted, and the torch blazed anew. The portcullis rose, allowing the trio to exit.

"Much better." Julian said, rubbing the fire across his scales, clearly cleaning them.

O-0-O

"So, now what?" Link asked. They were standing at the edge of the top floor, looking down at the webbed circle far below.

"Now, you jump." said Julian. "You should be able to accumulate enough force to break the web now. Hey, don't look at me like that; this was _your_ plan." He added when Link glared at him. Finally, Julian sighed and pushed Link off before any further argument could be raised.

Link screamed as he fell the two stories from the top floor to the first. He hit the web dead in the center, and it bulged downward. It looked ready to fling him back onto another wall, probably killing him this time around, but then the sound of something snapping was heard, and before he knew it, Link was falling once more. He landed in the water and flailed around for a bit before he was able to correct himself. He saw that the water was barely five feet deep, nearly one foot deeper than himself.

"Was that really necessary?" Navi asked back at the top floor. Link started screaming curses and swears, clearly directed at Julian.

"Yes." Julian replied, jumping down to follow Link.

\- **A/N now we get onto the lower portions! To Be Honest, I was surprised I was able to split this into two parts.**


	4. Inside The Great Deku Tree: Lower Levels

**A/N Now we get onto the second part of the first dungeon!**

Stats of Link: Level: 3.41 Health: 1.5 Defense 1.5 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

"You could have killed me!" Link yelled as Julian glided down to the basement, neatly killing a Golden Skulltula as he landed.

"You weren't going to die."

"I could have landed in the water with enough force to kill me!"

"You're thinking of a seventy-six meter fall. That was barely twenty."

"I could have drowned!"

"In five feet of water? How heroic."

Link lunged at Julian, but he easily jumped into the air, kicked off Link's head, and landed on a ledge too high for Link to climb. "Want to try that again?" he said, smirking as Link fell into the water again.

"How did you even jump that high?" He asked, getting up.

"Dragonian bones are very light, and when we jump and flap our wings at the same time, we can cover a lot of vertical distance. Worked best when I used your head as a jump pad."

Link growled and looked around. The chamber wasn't fully filled with water, as some unlit torches on dry ground and the ledge Julian was on indicated. He stepped on a switch, and suddenly one of the torches started blazing, obliterating the web that coated it. After Link collected the Skulltula token (and killed another one) he pulled out a Deku Stick. Setting it on fire, he ran across the room and burned the web on another door, allowing it to open. As they entered (or rather, Link and Navi did; Julian opted to stay at the ledge until Link's steam blew out, and anyways, according to the map, Link will eventually reach the ledge on foot), a portcullis slammed down on the door.

Another Deku Scrub appeared and shot at them. Link knew the drill and deflected the Deku Nut back at it. Borrowing Julian's tactic, he ran forward and put the tip of his sword against the Deku Scrub's.

It squealed in fright and cried, "If you spare me, I'll teach you something cool!" Link sighed, but nodded.

"It better not be another worthless piece of information." he said.

"You'll never be able to defeat my siblings up ahead unless you defeat them in the correct order. I can't tell you directly, but I can tell you this. The order is: Twenty-Three is Number One!" He started sobbing as Link pulled the sword away. "Do you think I'm a traitor now?!" The Deku Scrub ran away

"Congratulations," Navi deadpanned. "You have just emotionally destroyed someone. You must feel like quite the hero now."

Now feeling extremely guilty, Link pulled out his Slingshot and fired a Deku Seed at an eye-like switch above a door they hadn't yet went through. The switch suddenly closed, like Link poked it in the eye (which, logically, he did) and suddenly, the portcullis on the door rose.

"How'd you know that would work?" Navi asked.

Link shrugged. "Just a hunch." There was a long silence. "Okay, you got me. I figured it because of past experiences with Mido."

In the next room was a large pool of water, as well as a large, spiky log cutting through the center.

"... We needed some excitement." Navi explained when Link looked confused at her. Link looked around and found another switch that was under the water.

"What does that do?"

"It raises the water level."

"Why would you need that if you can fly?"

"We occasionally lure a Kokiri over here to try it out."

"Ah."

Link then jumped into the water, dived, and pushed the switch down. The water rose, allowing him to swim under the log and climb up onto the opposite side. After killing another Skulltula, he pushed a block that allowed him to climb up a ledge, leading to another room.

This room had three torches aligned in a triangle, with one of them lit. A couple Deku Babas were scattered around the room, but there wasn't much of anything else of interest. Link looked up and saw a Skulltula and three strange, red, squishy-looking things.

"What in Nayru's name are those?" Link wondered aloud.

"That's a Gohma Egg." Navi explained. "When this egg hatches, a Gohma Larva will be born. Why there's one in the Great Deku Tree, I don't know. Maybe this has something to do with his curse?"

Link aimed his Slingshot very carefully, and shot down the eggs. They exploded with a shatter, leaving a disgusting mess that shouldn't be explained in detail.

After killing the Skulltula, Link grabbed his trusty Deku stick and lit all the torches. Link went through the door and arrived at a room that looked larger, but very similar to the previous one. As Link killed another Skulltula, suddenly, a Gohma egg dropped down and hatched into Gohma Larva.

"Look out when it gets ready to pounce!" Navi cried, just as the Larva got ready to do just that. Link jumped to the side and stumbled. He turned around to find the baby Gohma leap at him again. Link held his sword erect, and the Larva only had time to squeal in surprise before the sword pierced its head, killing it.

There was a couple seconds of silence as Link caught his breath, then he looked around. There was a cracked wall, and when Link knocked on it, it sounded hollow. He saw a small tunnel that seemed to lead back into the first room of the bottom floor, so he crawled through it.

Julian grinned at him as Link crawled out. "You out of it, then?" he asked. Link just glared at him and looked around. Now that he was on a higher ledge, he could see the whole room. There was a small block that could be pushed down the ledge to be used as a shortcut, should the need arise, and there was another webbed hole that led to what the map indicated as floor B2.

"Oh, Din. No, no, NO! I'm not jumping from a large height again!" Link yelled.

Julian chuckled. "Lucky you, then. You can burn the web with the torch that you lit the last time you were here."

"Why can't you burn the web yourself?"

"A: You're the one with the sticks. B: You got to learn not to rely on me all the time. Someday, I won't be here to help you."

"Why would I need your help?" Link growled, pushing the block and going toward the torch. However, unknown to Link, but noticeable to Navi, Julian's face grew sad. However, when she blinked, his face was back to its usual seriousness.

She shrugged, assuming she imagined it. Link came back with a lit Deku stick, and he stuck in into the web. The web burned down, allowing the trio to reach the bottom level.

As Link climbed down and Julian and Navi glided down, Three Deku scrubs appeared. _Three?_ Link wondered. His thoughts wandered back to the last Deku Scrub he met. _Oooohhh… Twenty Three is Number One…_

"Hey, we should attack them in a Two-Three-One order" he said. Julian looked at him strangely.

"Why?"

"Just a hunch." Link readied his shield and deflected a Deku Nut at the middle Scrub as Julian grabbed and threw a second Deku Nut at the third scrub just a few seconds behind. Link handled the third one, and Julian ran forward and grabbed the scrub before he could flee.

"How did you know our secret?" The Scrub cried out. "It's irritating!"

Julian tightened his grip a small bit. "Who is killing the Deku Tree?" He asked.

The scrub squealed in fright. "Queen Gohma. If you need to kill her, stun her by hitting her eyes and then attacking her with those… sharp… oh, Queenie... I'm so sorry!" The scrub started bawling and ran off.

"Wow. That's a lot worse than my attempt." Link muttered. "Don't do that!"

Julian looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"They're individuals like us! We can't just torture them like that!"

There was a long, tense moment in which no one spoke, then finally Julian said, "Fine. Let's hurry up before the Deku Tree dies."

O-0-O

Gohma's lair was large and misty. Strangely, no one was around.

"Be on the Lookout." Navi said. "She could come from anywhere…"

They looked around for a couple moments, and concluded that she wasn't in the room. Then Julian looked up. "Uh, Link?" He said. "Look up and please don't panic on me."

Link followed his gaze and saw a huge, bloodshot eye from the shadows. Then, the eye dropped down to reveal a huge, bluish-black spider, which then roared at the trio.

"That must be Gohma!" Navi shouted. "Attack the eye when it turns red!"

Gohma raced toward them, then stuck two of its eight legs to lunge at them. Seeing the eye turn red, Link pulled out his slingshot and shot a Deku Seed at it. Striking it spot-on, the spider roared, collapsing to the ground.

"Now's your chance!" Julian said, rushing forward. He did a jump over the spider, raking his claws across her back. Link slashed at the eye, which had turned into a stunned green.

Gohma roared, and struggled to stand. She took off and climbed the wall, and started to lay some eggs.

"I'll handle the eggs!" Julian shouted. "Her eye is red again! Finish her off!"

Link aimed and fired another seed at Gohma, almost missing her eye. She collapsed, and Julian started hacking at the eggs, trying to destroy them all before they hatched. Link continued to slash at her eye, and soon Gohma took too much damage. She roared, and blue flame erupted around her. Stunned, Link and Navi watched as her body decomposed until nothing was left except for a heart-shaped crystal.

"I heard of these things." Julian said, dropping to the ground and picking it up. "They're called Heart Containers. They increase your health and defense when you eat one. They're like candy, except sweeter. Don't worry, these are only the hearts of magically created creatures. There's nothing… uh… even I feel disgusted thinking about it. The point is that Gohma wasn't born and raised. She was magically created by some Black Magic."

Link tenderly picked up the Heart Container. _It doesn't feel like an organ, in fact…_ He realized. _More like… bread._ He tenderly bit a small part. It tasted wonderful, perhaps the greatest thing he ever eaten. He scarfed down the rest, then he… he felt stronger. Not physically, or mentally, but more like he could endure more pain before collapsing. Experimentally, he pinched himself, very hard.

"Ow!" he yelped, shaking his arm. The other two laughed.

"C'mon, let's get out of here already." Navi stated.


	5. Dawn of the Triumvirate

**A/N With the first Dungeon over, we now go into our first transition chapter! (for those unaware (and you're likely so, as I made up the term) a Transition chapter mainly covers stuff outside the main plotline, though it can cover major plot details!)**

Stats of Link: Level: 4.26 Health: 2 Defense 2 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

"Well done, Link." Said the Great Deku Tree as the trio exited him. "Thou three have verily demonstrated your courage… I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry on my wishes… Now, I have more to tell you…" Realizing a long story was coming, Julian and Link sat down on the grass as Navi rested on the Deku Tree's nose-like area.

"Now…" The Deku tree said. "Listen carefully… a wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse on me… This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule… For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce-" Link and Navi heard Julian gasp. "-Which contains the essence of the gods."

The Deku Tree was silent for a bit, then started speaking in a tone Link and Navi recognized as the one he used for storytelling. "When there was no reason in the world and life did not yet have form, three great golden goddesses descended to the land of chaos that was Hyrule. Their names were Din, the Goddess of Power, Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, And Farore, the Goddess of Courage. Din… with her strong arms of flame, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru… she poured her intelligence into the earth and gave laws to the world. Farore… because of her abundant heart, all life that would follow the laws was created. The three great Goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens, and the golden Sacred Triangles, the Triforce, remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the Triforce has become the basis of our world's providence, and the resting place of the Triforce has become the Sacred Realm."

The Deku Tree reverted to his normal, weaker tone. "Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce… thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the sacred realm of legend… that evil man who cast the death curse on me and sapped my power… because of that curse, my end is nigh…"

There was a stunned silence, then Navi started sobbing. "B-but we s-stopped the curse!" She wailed, flying up to his eyes. Link was shocked; He had failed to save the Great Deku Tree. Ergo, he had essentially killed him. If Julian was feeling anything, he betrayed no feelings.

The Tree seemed to smile sadly. "Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started… yes, I will pass away soon… but do not grieve for me. I have been able to tell you of these important matters… and anyways… I have lived a long life."

He waited for Navi to stop her crying, letting her get it out, and finally, when she stopped, He continued. "This is Hyrule's final hope… this Triumvirate… Link… Julian… Navi… go now to Hyrule Castle… there, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny. Take this stone with you… the stone that the man wanted so much, that he cast the curse on me…"

There was a flash of light, and a small, shining green stone with a small spiral engraved on it (the symbol of the Kokiri) appeared in Link's hands.

 _Link, Navi, and Julian got the Kokiri Emerald! This is the sacred relic of the forest, entrusted to them by the Great Deku Tree on his deathbed. Who is this man of the desert, and why does he want this stone so much, enough to murder?_

"The future depends on you three… thou art courageous… Navi the faerie… Julian the dragonian… help Link carry out my will… I entreat ye… Navi… good… bye…"

The bark on the Great Deku Tree stiffened, turned grey, and the leaves started to fall. The tree just… Dulled. Dead. Navi started to cry again. and tears were running down Link's face as well. Had anyone looked at Julian, they would have also noticed that he was crying as well, with tears just as silver as his eyes running down the scales on his face.

"... Let's go to the castle, Link." Julian said after a long while. As Link and Julian turned toward Kokiri Village, Navi stayed behind a few seconds longer.

"Good Bye… Great Deku Tree…" She murmured. "You were like a Grandfather to me…"

O-0-O

 _Ten minutes since the Great Deku Tree died..._

"Hey, Link! What did you do?!" Cried Mido when Link exited the grotto. Julian had gone on ahead, saying there was something he had to do real quick, and Navi had gone into a fitful sleep under Link's cap. Surrounding Mido where all the residents of Kokiri forest, looking at Link. When he looked, Link didn't see Saria anywhere. He didn't know whether to feel happy or sad about that.

"I tried to save the Great Deku Tree from a curse." Link said quietly. He tried to pass Mido, but he held a hand in front of Link, stopping him.

"The Great Deku Tree… Did he… Die?" Link's face gave Mido his answer. "How could you do a thing like that?! It's all your fault!" Link started to cry again and took off, heading away from his own village, where he had lived all his life.

"Yeah, that's right!" Mido screamed at him. "Leave this place, and never come back!"

O-0-O

There was a small bridge, which led out of the Lost Woods and into the world beyond. Link ran halfway across it before he noticed that there were two others on the bridge. He saw Julian and Saria, looking like they had a serious discussion. Saria turned to Link, who stopped.

"Oh… you're leaving…" She said sadly. "I knew… That you would leave the forest… Someday, Link… Because you are different from me and my friends…"

Link nodded. "It's because I never had a faerie, huh?" he said. "Because the Great Deku Tree couldn't get me one until he was nearly dead?"

Saria winced a little. "I'm sure he tried to get you one sooner, Link." She said. "Maybe there's something different about you, deep down…" She shrugged. "But that's okay, because we'll be friends forever, won't we?"

Link grinned a little and nodded again. "Yeah. Friends forever."

Saria pulled out a tannish-pink potato ocarina. "I want you to have this ocarina… Please take good care of it." She put the ocarina in Link's hands, then placed hers on his. "When you play my ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit someday."

"It's time we get going, Link." Julian said. "I talked to Saria. As nearly all the forest thinks you killed the Great Deku Tree, I told Saria that you didn't. I explained everything to her. She'll help with damage control here at the Kokiri Forest, but for the next few days, you should stay away from here."

Link, now with tears running down his face for a new reason, ran out of the forest and into the outside world.

"Take care of him for me, okay?" Saria asked Julian.

He smiled sadly. "I'll try. I have to."

O-0-O

There was an uneasy silence as the trio exited the forest and entered Hyrule Field. As there was still a small ridge from the forest, they couldn't see very far yet. Navi had awoken, but could see that now was not the time for debating the Great Deku Tree's last wish.

The silence was finally broken when a "Hoo-hoot!" came from the top of a tree a couple feet away from them. "Link, look up here!"

Link looked around, but all he could see was an ordinary owl on the trees. "Who said that?!"

"The owl." Julian replied. "Is that Kaepora Gaebora?"

Before Link could ask who Kaepora Gaebora was, the owl suddenly spoke. "Correct. Now, Link, it seems the time has come to start your adventure! You will encounter many hardships ahead… That is your fate. Don't feel discouraged, even during the toughest of times! Go straight this way, and you will see Hyrule Castle. You will meet a princess there… If you are lost and don't know which way to go, look at this map." He threw a rolled up parchment that was on a neighboring branch toward Link, who caught it.

Link opened it, revealing a map of Hyrule. Roughly east of where they were was the woods that Link had lived, called the _Forbidden Forest_. South was a large lake, which was called _Lake Hylia_. To the west was a large series of canyons, called _Gerudo Valley_. Farther west was a large desert area, called the _Haunted Wasteland_ , which made Link shudder. The north was none other than _Hyrule Town Market_ and _Hyrule Castle._ Slightly east of that was a small village called _Kakariko Village_ , at the foot of a massive volcano called _Death Mountain._ Farther east was a long river, called _Zora's River._ The waterfall there was called _Zora's Domain._ The very center of the map was a small ranch called _Lon Lon Ranch._ The area connecting the woods, river, village, ranch, canyon, lake, and market was called _Hyrule Field._

"All right, then! I'll see you around! Hoot hoot hoot ho!" with that, Kaepora Gaebora flew away.

"I'll just say," Julian said. "Kaepora Gaebora is a very famous owl, spreading his wisdom all over Hyrule. Sometimes he rambles on, but what he says helps a lot. Some even say he is the very incarnation of a sage!" Julian took a look at the map in Link's hands. "Hyrule castle is straight ahead; let's go!"

O-0-O

By the time they arrived at the Castle, the sun was setting. They reached the moat just as the drawbridge slammed close.

"Well, Din." Julian muttered.

Link looked happy at the fact Julian was unhappy. "What's wrong? Something finally gone wrong for you?"

Julian snorted. "It was more for you, Link. Good luck battling the undead." He took to the sky, flying a few meters above Link.

"Wait, what-" Suddenly, two small skeletons appeared from the ground, and after they looked around for a while, they saw Link and started advancing on him. "Farore!"

"Don't be afraid of the Stalchild, Link!" Navi called. "Just attack it repeatedly!"

"Easy for you to say! I'm the only one who can't fly!"

Link swung his sword at the Stalchilds, and surprisingly, after only two hits they collapsed and sunk back into the ground.

"Why aren't you fighting these if they're so easy?" Link taunted Julian.

"They'll just be a waste of my time. I prefer to find the fastest and most effective way of doing things."

To demonstrate, he swooped down and bashed the skulls of another two Stalchilds, who then went back into the ground as their skulls shattered.

"Let's go to Lon Lon Ranch!" he said. "It should be safe there!"

O-0-O

They managed to enter the ranch, where everything was peaceful, to Link's confusion. Julian added to it when he tried to explain to Link that settlements naturally had an enchantment that wards off undead creatures, but he failed to make it simple.

They explored the empty corral. After they found and killed two more Golden Skulltulas, they found a cow shed to rest for the night.

"I don't really want to sleep next to cows…" Link said as they looked around the tight space.

"Hey! There's a small cubbyhole!" Navi said, flying over to a small hole.

They crawled through it, finding an opening large enough for all three of them to lie down comfortably. "Hey, another Heart Container!" Link said, surprised. Julian looked it over.

"Actually, it's a Heart Piece. It's like a Heart Container, only one-fourth of one. You'll need four of them to make one full Heart Container."

"I can do my math, thank you."

After Link had eaten the Heart Piece (he had skipped lunch, so he was hungry) he laid down. Navi found the most comfortable pocket of hay and arranged it in a bed as well. "Well, get some rest. We got a big day tomorrow." Julian said, sitting near the cubbyhole.

"Hey, we should probably call ourselves something." Navi said. "What about Triforce Protectors?"

Julian shook his head. "I don't think that would work…"

"What about the Triumvirate?" Link suggested. "That's what the Great Deku Tree called us." The other two were nodding.

"The Triumvirate it is." Julian said. He then pulled out a blue ocarina, looking as if it were carved out of a mysterious blue stone. On the back were three gems- a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald. He brought the ocarina to his mouth and started to play. As the beautiful notes floated around the room, Link's eyes grew heavy. Within moments, both he and Navi were sound asleep.

Julian grinned as he put away the ocarina. "You have a great destiny awaiting you, Link." he murmured. "So far, you're the most important person I've ever met in my life. You are the creator of crossroads, but you will only choose which one to go to. By the time you have to make that choice, I will not be around for you anymore..." He turned toward the cubbyhole and made sure that no one would discover them until they left.


	6. Hyrule Castle

**A/N I'm actually surprised we're already almost done with the first arc. Time seems to fly by rather quickly! I hope you guys will enjoy this story just as much as I did making it!**

Stats of Link: Level: 5.97 Health: 2.25 Defense 2 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Twenty hours since the Great Deku Tree died..._

Before morning came, the Triumvirate made sure to leave before anyone noticed anything suspicious. Soon, they arrived at the Castle Town just after dawn.

"For the love of Nayru, don't panic on me." Julian muttered as they crossed the drawbridge. Link looked at him quizzically, but very quickly got his answer as they entered the Hyrule Town Market.

The town was _flooding_ with people. No one could get anywhere without bumping into each other. Link started to feel closed in, trapped. There was so many people around, it was impossible to tell who bumped into him, and whether or not they could hurt him. The noise was deafening; Cuccos (A kind of Hyrulean breed of chickens) were squawking, people were chatting, arguing, praising, complaining... He was about to scream in fright when suddenly he was yanked out of the market and into an alley. He saw that a blonde boy, roughly sixteen years old, had pulled him over. Link was about to fight back in panic when the boy shoved Link's arms behind his back.

"Sh!" He hissed. "It's me, Julian. I can't reveal my true identity in public without causing a mass panic, so I have to rely on Dragonian technology to disguise myself." Suddenly, the belt on his clothes bulged outward, and suddenly Link was looking at Julian. The belt had actually been his tail, wrapped around his waist to activate the powerful disguise. The tail wrapped back around the waist, and Link was suddenly looking at the blonde boy again. "What you're feeling right now is common. They call it enochlophobia, or fear of large crowds. It also goes by different names like ochlophobia or demophobia, but that's not important." Now that Link was able to focus better, he could see similarities between the human and dragonian Julian. The hair was the same shade of gold as his scales, the eyes were still moonlight silver, and the height was exactly the same.

"Now, as you have been living in the Kokiri Forest all your life, obviously you'd freak out about so many people being in one location." Julian continued. "I have a little solution. There's a small game place not far from here, where people practice their aim with a bow or slingshot. Try it, and maybe it'll calm you down. If you win, you'll get a bigger seed bag, so all in all it will be beneficial to you." Julian handed Link several red rupees and pointed him in the direction of the archery range.

O-0-O

"Do you want to play?" Asked a burly man as Link entered the archery range.

Link, more or less composed once more, shrugged. "Might as well." He put one of Julian's red rupees on the counter, and soon stood on the shooting platform, readying his slingshot. This all would have been cool, but because Link was small-being a ten-year old-he had to stand on a crate to be able to reach above the ledge that acted as a fault line.

"This is Hyrule's famous Shooting Gallery!" The man boomed. "Take aim at the rupee targets on that platform! You get fifteen shots for ten targets! Try to go for a perfect score!"

Link tried, but he missed several of the targets. After paying for another round, he managed to get all but one. "Almost!" the man said. "Well... alright. I'll let you try one more time for free… but this time you gotta do it!" Link looked at the sign next to the man: _Free Retry: 15-19 targets,_ It read.

Link focused back to the gallery as the game music began to play. He recalled how the last two times, the pattern was exactly the same. When the first green rupee pulled up, he shot it. Then the two blue rupees that came from the left and right-both shattered. A second green rupee that shot out of where the previous one-the one Link missed in his last game-Link managed to shoot. Then another two blue rupees, and finally the last targets-four red rupees. All shot and shattered.

"Wonderful! Bravo! Perfect!" the man said, handing Link a seed bag slightly bigger than his old one. "Here's a fantastic present!"

O-0-O

As Link exited the building, he felt a little better about the crowds. He still didn't want to go deeper into it, and stayed at the edge, but he felt better. Unfortunately, even at the edge, collisions were impossible to avoid. He rammed into someone and they both fell into the ground.

"S-Sorry." He stammered, helping the person he knocked over back up. He saw that the person was a young girl, perhaps the same age as him, with long red hair and a yellow dress.

She looked at him. "Hey! Your clothes! They're… different. You're not from around here, are you?"

Link nodded meekly. "Yeah. I came from the forest, actually. This is my first time in Hyrule Castle."

Her face lit up. "Oohhh… You're a faerie boy from the forest! My name's Malon! My father owns Lon Lon Ranch!"

Link's face showed a small trace of guilt for when the Triumvirate broke into their cow shed the night before, but Malon didn't notice. "Dad went to the castle to deliver some milk," she continued, "But he hasn't come back yet…" Link nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll find him! I'm heading to the castle too!" he said. He eventually managed to find his way out of the Town Market, and soon found himself on a small, grassy plain.

"Hey." Julian said. "Welcome to the front lawn of the Royal Family." He looked wistfully at the castle. "Unfortunately, the guards won't let us through. We can storm the castle, but that won't go very well…" He trailed off when he looked at a nearby tree. Link followed it to find Kaepora Gaebora looking at them.

"Hey, Link! This way!"he said. "The princess is inside the castle just ahead." Kaepora continued. "Be careful not to get caught by the guards! Ho ho ho hoot! Well, well, which way are you going to go now? You're a smart kid, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Hoo hoo." With that, he flew off.

"Okay, then" Link said slowly. "Where do we start?"

"Well, there are some vines over here." Navi pointed out, flying over to a nearby wall.

"Good idea," Julian stated. "However-"

"Vines it is." Link said, shooting Julian a glare. He climbed up the vines, and started sneaking around the yard. Link started to feel like he was unstoppable, and he grinned at the prospect of having bested Julian in something at last.

However, this came to an abrupt halt when suddenly, a guard yelled. "Hey you! Stop! You kid, over there!" Link screamed and tried to run, but it wasn't very long before the guard caught up with him.

O-0-O

"The pain!" Link yelled as he curled up into a ball, sobbing as his broken bones, caused by the beatings of the guards, slowly mended thanks to Navi's small healing charm.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Julian asked, irritated. "They'd just let you walk on by? You're lucky you're just a little kid, otherwise they'd be throwing every ten-year old kid who pulls a prank into dungeons." He looked at the sky. "Had you been listening to me, I would have told you that in daytime, those guards can see almost everyone in this plain. You'll have to wait for dusk to arrive before we can sneak past them."

Link sat up, and tentatively tested his limbs. He sighed with relief when he realized they worked fine. Then, he heard someone singing nearby. He looked to see Malon sitting by herself, singing some sort of tune.

"Are you going to the castle, Faerie Boy?" Malon asked as Link walked over. apparently Julian and Navi were too busy to pay attention to her.

"Yep." Link replied.

"Would you mind finding my dad? He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle…" She giggled. "What a thing for an adult to do! I'll give this to you If you promise to look for him." When Link nodded and promised, she handed Link a small egg, which looked about ready to hatch. "I've been incubating this egg very carefully." She giggled again.

"Er… Thank you!" Link called as she went back to the Town Market.

"Hey, Link!" Julian called. "Where did you get that egg?"

O-0-O

As they had plenty of time before nightfall, Link explained his conversation with Malon. When night rolled around, Link and Julian climbed the vines to the wall while Navi floated after them. By sticking to the shadows and only dashing when necessary, they were able to elude the guards and reach the entrance to the courtyard by midnight, killing a few more Golden Skulltulas. as they arrived, they noticed a man sleeping near some crates, but they payed him no heed, instead focusing on the door to the courtyard.

"Farore!" Julian hissed, trying to open the door. "It's locked."

Link offered to force the door open, but Julian shook his head, saying that if they were to make this as peaceful as possible, they shouldn't create any evidence that suggested otherwise. Even then, they didn't want to startle awake the man.

The Triumvirate went to sleep, and Julian took the first watch. Link awoke to find Julian staring into the dawn. "Why didn't you wake any of us?" he demanded.

Julian grinned. "Dragonians have many different biological information than humans, Link." he said. When Link stared at him blankly, he sighed. "I don't need as much sleep as humans, Link." He clarified. "Dragonians have slower internal activity in the body than humans. We only need twenty-four hours of sleep every three days. The same goes with food; we only need one meal a day to stay healthy."

Link just sighed in exasperation, then turned to the man. "Why hasn't he woke up yet?"

Julian shrugged. "He's a heavy sleeper, I guess. Oh, and I don't think he's part of the Royal family. His clothes are too dirty to be those of a noble. Also, he was just delivering some milk over to the castle, and I guess he stopped here for a rest"

Link blinked. "Wait, he delivered milk?" he looked at the man again. "He must be Malon's father…"

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound. Link looked over to where he laid the egg and saw a cucco hatching out of it. When it finally escaped the egg, it crowed in triumph, very loudly.

The man yelled in shock, sitting bolt upright. "What in tarnation?!" he yelped, getting up. "Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?!" He suddenly noticed Link and Julian, who got up his disguise back on just in time. Navi had hid in Link's cap. "Hello, and who might you two be?"

After Julian introduced them, Link asked, "Are you the father of Malon?"

The man nodded. "That's right. I'm Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch. I went to the castle to deliver some milk, but I sat down here to rest, and I guess I fell asleep…"

Link opened his mouth, then closed it. "Well, Malon's looking for you." He finally said. Talon's jaw dropped.

"What?! Malon was looking for me?! I'm going to catch it from her now! I messed up bad, leaving Malon behind to wait for me! She's really going to let me have it!" He started running toward the Town Market, yelling "Malon!" at the top of his lungs, with the cucco running after him. The guards who saw him snickered, no doubt thinking about what a doofus he was.

"Hey, he forgot about the milk crates." Julian said after a while, pointing at two crates with a cow sign on them. "Maybe you can push them over to that small grating over there, so you can enter and unlock the door."

So Link and Julian spent the next hour pushing and pulling boxes filled with milk bottles. Eventually, Link was able to climb up the boxes and jump to the small grating where water was pouring into the moat. He crawled through the largest opening, with Navi following after him.

 **A/N: Actually, yes. There's apparently three different terms for fear of crowds. Enochlophoia, Ochlophobia, and Demophoia are all synonyms. Why researchers won't stick to just one name for the fear of crowds, I don't know. Take your pick on which term you'd rather go for.**


	7. Princess Zelda

**A/N I know, I know, I had this a bit late. I was a bit busy yesterday, and the story completely slipped my mind. But no worries, we have a new chapter, and the schedule is back to normal! I hope you enjoy the final chapter to Arc 1: Emerald!**

Stats of Link: Level: 7.93 Health: 2.25 Defense 2 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Two days since the Great Deku Tree died…_

Link entered what must have been the castle courtyard. There were a couple barrels near a door, which Link figured must have been the one leading to where Julian was. For a little while he toyed with the idea of leaving Julian there, but he figured that it wouldn't go well. He sighed as he turned the latch, unlocking the door.

Julian walked in, looking around. "Okay, you need to get past the guards." He deduced. "Lucky for you, I have an idea for that." He turned and took off, leaving Link by himself.

Link was about to yell at Julian for ditching him, but then he heard a large crash. "What was that?" A guard shouted. He, as well as a few dozen more, went toward the noise, leaving the entire courtyard free for Link to cross. However, not all of the guards were led astray.

"Blast…" Navi muttered.

Link noted that two guards remained. they looked pretty serious about their job, apparently showing that they were guarding something very important. Link knew that if he stayed too long, he would get discovered.

He looked for an opening, and found one. He ran forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. Unfortunately, he slammed his foot down on a twig, snapping it. The guards paused, and Link knew he had been caught. Suddenly, Julian, in his human form, ran by him and blew past the guards. They shouted, and gave chase.

"Well, that works." Navi said.

O-0-O

They entered a round, grassy area of the courtyard. No one was in there except for a small girl peering through a window. She turned around as Link approached. She gasped in shock. "Who?! Who are you? How did you get past the guards?"

He could see that she was very pretty. Her eyes were a startling blue, like Link's. Her hair, as well as her eyebrows, were golden. She wore an elegant white dress with a purple tunic covering the front. embedded in it was a ruby on the neck and an insignia of three golden triangles arranged into a secret fourth triangle on the bottom.

Link heard a chuckle and turned around to see Julian. Without his disguise on.

"Wait, wha-" Link did a double take. Julian chuckled.

"The answer to your second question is that I provided a distraction." He said.

"Well, you didn't get them all." Link muttered. Julian whipped his tail forward, knocking Link off his feet.

Navi flew out of Link's cap, about to berate the boys for their bickering again, then the girl gasped. "Is that… a _faerie?!_ Then, are you… are you from the forest?"

Link nodded, getting up. "Yeah. not this bozo, though." He said, pointing at Julian. Julian's tail whipped forward, knocking Link down once more.

"Then…" She continued. "Then… You wouldn't happen to have… The Spiritual Stone of the Forest? The green and shining stone?" She clarified when Link looked confused.

"Well? Do you have it?" She asked. Link nodded and pulled out the Kokiri's Emerald. The girl laughed in delight.

"Just as I thought!" She said. "I had a dream… in the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule… but suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground… the light turned into a figure, holding holding a green and shining stone, accompanied by a faerie… I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest.. yes, I thought you might be the one…" She turned toward Julian. "However, I do not recognize you from anywhere… what are you? You look like a dragon as well as a human…"

Julian stretched, revealing his full wingspan. "I am a Dragonian." He said. "Just call me Julian. It's nice to meet you at last, Princess of Hyrule."

Link's eyes bulged, and Navi missed a wingbeat. _They were talking to the princess of Hyrule?!_

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The princess said. "I got carried away by my story and didn't even properly introduce myself!" She lowered her head and smiled at the Triumvirate. "My name is Zelda, Princess of Hyrule." She leaned toward Link and cocked her head. "What's your name?"

"My name is Link, and this is Navi." Link said, grinning.

"Link…" Zelda murmured. "Strange… it sounds somehow… familiar…" She shook her head. "Okay then, Link… I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm, that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone…" Link nodded.

Zelda took a deep breath. "The Legend goes like this… the three goddesses hid the Triforce which contains the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule. That power can grant the wish of whoever holds the Triforce. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity... if someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil… that is what has been told. So the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time in order to protect the Triforce from those with evil hearts."

She grinned. "That's right… the Temple of Time is the entrance through which the Sacred Land can be reached from this land. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. In order to open the door, it is said that one must gather the three Spirit Stones and put them in the temple. And one more thing is necessary… the treasure that the Royal Family protects along with the legend… the Ocarina of Time!" She pulled out an ocarina strikingly similar to Julian's except that there was no gems inlaid on the back.

She put the ocarina back into a fold of her dress, then said, "I forgot to tell you… I was spying through this window just now…" She gestured toward the window she was looking into before she noticed Link.

"The other element from my dream… The dark clouds… I believe they symbolize that man in there! Please look through the window." Navi had long since disappeared into Link's cap, and Julian had laid on the grass, looking as if he wanted to go to sleep. Link obliged, peering through the window.

Link saw two people, having a conversation over maps and wine. The first man was rather large and plump, wearing a crown on his head. however, it was the second man that grabbed Link's attention. his skin was dark, as was the clothing he wore. he was very tall and muscular, wearing a full suit of armor very easily, and he wore no helmet. His hair was red and wild, but pushed back against its natural course, like fire against a strong wind. His eyes were solid gold, and an orange gem adorned his forehead.

"Can you see the man with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked. Link nodded, keeping his gaze on the dark man. "That is Ganondorf, leader of the Gerudo." Zelda continued. "They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream… I believe they symbolize that man!"

Just then, Ganondorf looked away from the king and straight at Link. Link yelped in shock and scrambled away from the window.

"What happened?" Zelda asked in alarm. "Did he see you?"

"I-I'm not sure…" He stammered. For some reason, that man looking at Link had scared him deep within his bones. He wasn't sure whether to run or to curl up into a ball and start sobbing.

"Don't worry." Zelda said, putting a hand on Link's shoulder. "He doesn't have any idea what we're planning… Yet!"

"Why not tell your father?" Julian asked, yawning. "Surely he would need to know about your dream…"

Zelda shifted uncomfortably. "...Yes." she finally said after a few moments. "I told my father about my dream… However, he didn't think it was a prophecy." Her eyes narrowed. "But I can sense Ganondorf's evil intentions! What that man must be after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm! He must have came to Hyrule to obtain it! He wants to conquer Hyrule… No, the entire world! Link… Julian… Navi… we are the only ones who can protect Hyrule!"

"You got that right, your highness!" Link said.

Zelda smiled. "Thank you for believing me! But please just call me Zelda." Suddenly, her expression grew somber. "I… I am afraid… I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power! But it's fortunate you three have come… we must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I'll protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it! You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him!"

She ripped a piece of parchment from a nearby book, pulled out a quill, and started writing on it. "One more thing," She said. "Take this letter… I'm sure it will be helpful to you." She handed Link the letter.

They turned around and noticed a tall, slender woman was waiting, having not made her presence known.

"Now, my attendant will escort you out of the castle." Zelda continued. "Don't be afraid to talk to her."

Zelda's attendant had grey hair and wore tight clothes. Her skin was light and smooth, despite the indication of age, and her irises were deep red. She casted an imposing aura that made Link understand what Zelda meant.

"I am Impa of the Sheikahs," She said. "I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything was exactly as the princess foretold. You're a courageous boy… You are heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you? My role in the princess's dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest. This is an ancient melody passed down by the Royal Family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda as a lullaby ever since she was a baby… There is mysterious power in these notes. now, listen carefully…" She whistled three notes twice, paused, then whistled them again. Link pulled out the ocarina Saria gave him, but fumbled at translating the notes.

"I know how to play." He said defensively when Julian looked at him. "I Just don't know what ocarina notes she's playing…"

"Here," Julian said. he pulled out his own ocarina and played the six notes, and after that Link was able to play Zelda's Lullaby on his ocarina.

"If the soldiers find you, there will be trouble." Impa said. "Let me lead you out of the castle."

O-0-O

"You brave lad… We must protect this land of Hyrule!" Impa said as they exited the Town Market and entered Hyrule Field. She then pointed toward a distant mountain. "Take a good look at that mountain. It is called Death Mountain, home of the rock-like people, the Gorons. They hold the Spiritual Stone of the Mountains."

She moved her finger down to a set of stairs near the mountain. "At the foot of Death Mountain, you will find my village, Kakariko. That is where I was born and raised. You should talk to the villagers there before you trek Death Mountain."

She then turned to the Triumvirate. "The song I just taught you has some mysterious power. Only Royal Family members are allowed to learn this song. Remember, it will help to prove your connection to the Royal Family."

The Triumvirate stepped forward, about to depart for Kakariko Village. "The Princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the Spiritual Stones." Impa finished, stepping behind them. "All right. we're counting on you!" Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and when the Triumvirate turned around, Impa was gone.

"Well, ready for the next chapter?" Julian asked Link. Link grinned in anticipation.

"Yeah!" He cheered. "Let's go!


	8. Arc 2: Day and Night, Sun and Moon

**A/N Now we begin Arc 2: Ruby! I'm glad to see this is going well. I hope you'll be able to enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed making it!  
Also, please, please PLEASE make reviews! I need them to help and fix any problems I may have in this story as well as any future ones. And yes, I'm already in the plans of another story. What is it, you may ask? Well, you'll have to wait to find out!**

Stats of Link: Level: 8.24 Health: 2.25 Defense 2 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Five days since the Great Deku Tree died…_

The Triumvirate finally entered Kakariko Village two days later. They would have arrived sooner, but Julian had to do his "Three days awake, one day sleeping" pattern. Kakariko didn't have as many residents as the Castle Town Market, and it had fewer attractions. The largest one was a windmill near the western part of town.

"Welcome to Kakariko!" Said an excited guard as they entered. "Zelda's attendant, the great Impa, opened this village to the common people. we only have a small population now, but someday this place will be as lively as Hyrule Castle Town! Oh, Yes it will! We don't have as much attractions here as does the Hyrule Castle Town Market, but we have a large Windmill and a graveyard specifically made for the Royal Family! Also, the current time is noon!"

"Oooookay, then." Link said, deciding that maybe the guard wasn't quite right in his mind. He then realized something. "Hey, do you think this Graveyard might contain some clues concerning the Triforce?" Julian only shrugged, and they decided to check it out.

On their way there, however, they came across a distraught looking woman.

"What should I do?" She wailed as they came by.

"What's wrong?" Julian asked, looking concerned. This surprised Link; the attitude Julian always shows him was that of an arrogant, rude, disrespectful, and annoying person. The attitude he was showing this woman was concerned, kind, and respectful.

"My cuccos have all flown away!" She cried. "Please bring my cuccos back to this pen!"

"Uh, sure thing." Link said. They spent the next few hours running across Kakariko, getting a self-led tour around the village while they captured seven cuccos and brought them back.

"Thank you for finding my cuccos!" she said afterwards, relief visible on her face. "I have allergies, so I get goosebumps when I touch them. For helping me, I'll give this to you." She handed Link a glass bottle. "This is fine glass, and should be useful. Take good care of it!"

Finally free of their side quest, they went toward the graveyard of the village.

O-0-O

Inside the Graveyard, they immediately noticed a large tombstone near the front of the graveyard. Navi exited from Link's cap (where she now usually rests) to read it as well.

 _R. I. P._ it read. _Here lies the souls of those who swore fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Sheikah, guardians of the Royal Family and founders of Kakariko, watch over these spirits in their eternal slumber._

As they walked over to the back of the graveyard, where another large tombstone rested, it started to rain, with thunder clapping every few seconds. Surprisingly, the Tombstone had very few words on it.

 _Royal Family's tomb._ It read. "Well, there's a lot of room left here." Julian muttered. He then noticed two other graves. "Hey, what are those two gravestones doing so close to the gravestone?"

Link walked over to the left grave. _R. I. P. Sharp the Elder._ It read. Suddenly, a ghost appeared out of the grave. Yelping, Link swung his sword on pure instinct, slicing the Ghost in half. "GYAAAAAH!" The ghost screamed. YOU KILLED ME… Unbelievable!" He then noticed the Triumvirate. Link was almost as pale as the clouds, while Julian had an bemused look. Navi was busy snickering at Link's face. "Oh, what? you're not one of Ganondorf's men, are you?" The ghost asked. He was completely black except for his eyes, which were a ghostly green, his hair and mustache, which were orange, and his outfit, which was a greenish-grey with a red collar and the insignia of the Trifiorce on his neck. He held a lantern in his right hand, and a conductor's baton in the left. The insignia of the Sun was on his hat.

Julian shook his head. "Nope. although since you're a ghost, you'd probably recognize that I'm not a creature of Hyrule, nor am I made of magic. Plus, my aura shouldn't be as dark and forbidding as Ganondorf's as well as his followers."

"I see." The ghost said. "Because of my role as a ghost, I had to act like that. I apologize. Now then, let me introduce myself." He cleared his throat, which was unnecessary, being a ghost and all. he then passed a hand over his body, fixing the cut Link delivered. "I am one of the ghostly Composer Brothers, known as Sharp the Elder. All the people in this village are born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule.

We brothers, me and Flat the Younger, also served the Royal Family. We were assigned to study the hereditary music powers of the family. Though we could never figure out the power of the Triforce, we had almost completed our study of controlling time with the tones of ocarinas."

He blinked. "Wait… Actually, We _did_ complete that study! we would have been famous, if that hateful Ganondorf had not tried to steal our results. We could never reap the fruits of our research! That's why we gave our lives to protect the secret. If you want to learn more, you should talk to my brother, who no doubt has listened into our conversation. He lives in the opposite gravestone." With that, he vanished.

They went over to the other grave. _R. I. P. Flat the Younger._ It read. Suddenly, a ghost bearing a remarkable resemblance to Sharp (except for the green clothes, slightly lighter outfit, and a insignia of the moon on his hat). Link was about to bolt, but Julian sighed, Grabbed him by the neck of his collar, then used his other hand to claw Flat across the stomach.

"GYAAAAAAH!" He yelled. "I'M DEAD… AGAIN!" Then he noticed the Triumvirate. "Oh, all right. I admit it. I listened into your conversation. You remind me of Princess Zelda… Hmm… since you may have some connection to the Royal Family, I'll tell you a little more of our tale…"

He collected himself (quite literally, considering his recent injury) and continued. "Back then, people called us the Great Composers because of the many masterpieces we wrote. However, Sharp and I were not just composers; We had a mission to analyze the mysterious power of Hyrule's Royal Family! Our names could be part of Hyrule's history if we could complete our research!

We kept our study extremely secret until we completed it. To tell the truth, each of us was studying a different song: One to summon the Sun, and one to summon the Moon."

He then looked at the big tombstone near his and Sharp's grave. "If you were really sent by a member of the Royal family, you should show your credentials on top of the Triforce mark… And now, I must go." He made like his brother and disappeared into his grave.

"You know, he was right!" Navi said, flying near the base of the tombstone. "The crest of the Royal family is inscribed here. Hey, does that mean by credentials…?"

Understanding, Link pulled out his ocarina and played Zelda's lullaby. The thunder grew louder and faster, and suddenly a bolt shot downward, striking the tombstone. Link, Navi, and even Julian screamed and dived for cover as stone shards and slabs went flying. As the stones stopped bouncing all over the graveyard, the triumvirate tentatively got back to their feet and explored the struck area.

"Great." Julian said, his eyes wide. "Barely three days in Hyrule, and already you defiled the grave of countless Kings and Queens of Hyrule. It will be a pleasant experience, explaining to Zelda and her father about this."

"Oh, shut up." Link said, finding a hole deep into the ground. He leaned forward, and suddenly the edge of the hole crumbled, sending him down screaming.

He landed in a large chamber, and after picking himself back up and adjusting to the darkness, saw a door on the far left. "Let me reiterate that." Julian sighed, flying down after him, Navi not that far behind him. "Three days in Hyrule, and already you defiled the grave of countless Kings and Queens of Hyrule, started gravedigging, and you're clinically retarded."

Link swiped his sword at Julian, but Julian nimbly dodged to the side.

They went through the door. The next room was vastly different, with an acrid smell coming from all over. Small pits with a slimy, green substance oozed around, making Link feel that he should not touch it.

Brown, humanoid creatures stood around, silent and still. Navi gave a little shriek, and flew into Link's cap. "T-those are R-Redeads!" She stammered, almost screeching. "It's gaze can paralyze you, and if it latches onto you, nothing can stop it from tearing your skin apart."

Julian nodded grimly. "Whatever you do, don't attract their attention!" He said. "They find their prey by sound. So walk quietly, be silent, and don't pull anything out of your pocket. We're lucky to have been out of earshot from them when we came in here…"

Scared, Link walked slowly, afraid to touch anything. He finally breathed a sigh of relief when they entered a new room, this time without any Redeads. There was another large gravestone with another message on it.

 _This poem is dedicated to the memory of the dearly departed members of the Royal Family._ It read. Link found a poem slightly below it.

 _A rising Sun will eventually set,_

 _A newborn's life will fade._

 _From Sun to Moon, Moon to Sun,_

 _Give peaceful rest to the living dead._

"This is an interesting poem, huh?" Julian said. Then his eyes widened. "Look!" He pointed.

There was what appeared to be a musical staff, with six notes embedded in it. Below it was a inscription: _Keep the Sun's Song in your heart._

"It must be the results that Flat told us about!" Julian whispered excitedly. Link pulled out his ocarina and played the notes.

On the very bottom was one last inscription: _Restless souls wander where they don't belong. Bring them calm with the Sun's Song._

"So… a song that changes time and heals the dead? That's… interesting." Julian said after a while.

The Triumvirate contemplated this for a while, then turned around and left.

The Redeads where nowhere to be seen.

O-0-O

Outside, it was night time. The rainstorm had finally subsided, giving an eery peace to the graveyard.

Sharp appeared beside them, startling Link. "Did you play the Sun's song?" He asked.

Julian nodded. "It seems your research has paid off." He noted, looking at the moon, which was already high in the sky.

Sharp grinned, or at least his mustache did. "Like I told you before, with that song, you can turn night to day, or day to night whenever you want. When you're in darkness, that song should bring the light of day to you, and vice versa. Hope it will be helpful!" With that, he vanished, probably for the last time.

The Triumvirate turned away from the tombstones and soon ran into a person whose face appeared to have been smashed in, and he was missing several teeth. He happened to be carrying a shovel.

"Hey, Kid! Don't mess with the graves!" He shouted upon seeing their dirty, bedraggled selves Or at least Link's, since Julian threw on his disguise, which did not support dirt. Link screamed, jumped backward, and was about to run when the man laughed. "I'm Dampé the Gravekeeper!" He said. "My face may be scary, but I'm not a bad guy…" Dampé cleared his throat. "Let me tell you about my side business. I do a gravedigging tour, where I'll dig a hole right at where I am, but only if you pay me ten rupees. Whatever I find is yours. Want to try?"

Link shrugged and gave Dampé two blue rupees. Dampé started digging, but only scooped up one shovelful of dirt before he unearthed a Heart Piece. Link blinked slowly, then took the Heart Piece and put it in his satchel for later.

"Well, uh…" Dampé said, clearly realizing he ran out of business.

"Erm… see ya, then" Link said happily.

O-0-O

"I wonder what's in that house?" Link wondered as they entered Kakariko once more. Link had seen a strange building near a corner, all bordered up and looking like it had been abandoned for years. They had done a little more exploring around the graveyard earlier, and had found another Heart Piece.

Julian shrugged. "Maybe it's a house that doesn't have any residents." He said. "Let's sleep there for the night."

They entered the building, which confirmed Julian's theory; the place was abandoned. There was absolutely no furniture, spider webs covered every corner. The walls and the ceiling had holes in them… and some very, very large skulltulas lived in there.

"YAAAH!" Link screamed. He was about to thrust his sword at one, when Julian grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Stop, you moron!" He said. "These aren't ordinary skulltulas..."

Link looked closer, and his eyes bulged; Julian was correct. They looked like skulltulas, but there was one slight difference; instead of the skull-like face Link had grown accustomed to, this one had the face of a young man. Looking around, he saw five more in similar condition.

"We look like this because of the Spider's Curse." The first Skulltula said sadly. "If every Spider of the Curse in Hyrule were to be destroyed, our curse could be lifted. When you destroy a Spider of the Curse, a token will appear. Collecting it releases a part, but not the whole, of the curse."

"Wait… do you mean these?" Link asked, pulling out a golden skulltula token. The eyes of the skulltula seemed to brighten a bit.

"So someone is collecting them…" He mused. "Yes. They are all over Hyrule, in its fields, towns, trails, and even lost temples." He sighed. "Of course, this is just our dream… You don't have to do it if you don't want to…"

Link shook his head. "Of _course_ We're going to do it! We'll always be there to help people." He nudged Julian, who elbowed him hard.

"Just because you said it first doesn't mean I'm not going to." He hissed.

The spider grinned. "If you break the Spider's curse on my family, we will make you very rich…"

Julian nodded, and dragged link outside. "C'mon, Link." He said. "I think I saw a few more outside…"

O-0-O

By midnight, their grand total of skulltula tokens was twelve.

"Come on." Julian said. "We probably didn't get all of them, but a curse breaks between ten and one hundred tokens. We might have saved one of them."

Link looked inquisitively at him. "Where do you even _get_ this info?" He asked.

Julian gave him a sad and mysterious smile."I have my ways." Was all he said.

They re-entered what they decided to call the "House of Skulltula," and the father skulltula they spoke with was filled with joy.

"The curse is starting to weaken!" He said excitedly. "One of my kids is back to normal! Before you talk to him, let me help you with your search. Most skulltulas love the night, and only come out around then. Others like soft soil, and some bugs can drive them out. Pay close attention to your surroundings! Please… We're counting on you!"

Link nodded, and the Triumvirate headed to the first freed child.

"Thank you!" He said. "Here's an award for you!" He handed Link a wallet that was clearly bigger than his old one. Link was relieved, as this meant less time asking for money from Julian.

Tired, the Triumvirate lay down in the most comfortable part of the house and went to sleep.

 **A/N Fun trivia: I made this chapter at around the same time Pokemon Sun and Moon was announced. Rather interesting how symbolic coincidences can occur, eh?**


	9. Death Mountain

**A/N Again, I publish another chapter a day off! XD so sorry. our weekend was rather busy, with me getting the ideas for a minor project of mines as well as watching Rogue One: a Star Wars story. but all in all, enjoy!  
** **Also, reading your review really put a smile on my face, TheSuperMario! While I had no doubts my story would be amazing (to me, at least), I was worried that most people wouldn't like it due to the inclusion of a OC.**

Stats of Link: Level: 11.65 Health: 2.5 Defense: 2.25 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Six days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

The next morning, the Triumvirate set out for Death Mountain. They encountered their first hurdle when the guard wouldn't let them pass, but then Link showed Zelda's letter to him.

After the guard finished laughing at this new "Game" of Zelda's, he finally said, "By the way, Mr. Hero… If you're going to climb Death Mountain, you should equip a proper shield! It _is_ an active volcano, after all! If you go back to Hyrule Castle Town Market, and go to the Bazaar, they will sell you the shield. Just tell them I sent you, and they should give you a discount. Oh, and while you're there… Can you do me a favor?"

Link shrugged. "I guess so."

"Have you been to the Happy Mask Shop that just opened in the market? Everyone is talking about it! My little boy pesters me for a certain mask. It's called a 'Kea… Something' mask. Sorry, I can't remember the whole name. The thing is, I don't have the time to go over there… So, could you go and get the mask while you're there? If you don't want to, that's okay, but… well, this is my job." He sighed as The Triumvirate decided to go back to Hyrule Castle Town Market.

O-0-O

By noon, they had arrived at the Town Market. Link went to the Bazaar to get his shield (while Julian watched; he didn't want Link to have another Enochlophobic episode) and once Link entered the building, Julian went to the Happy Mask Shop.

As they reunited, Link was a bit worried. The Hylian Shield was far too large for him to carry in one hand; he had to have it slung over his back. Julian appeared confused about the mask he got from the shop.

"Apparently, the shop owner gives us a mask for free, then makes us sell it and _then_ we pay the cost of the mask." He explained. "This mask is supposed to cost ten rupees."

By the time they arrived at Kakariko once more, the sun was setting. "Oh?" Asked the guard who talked to them earlier. "Is that a Kea… Something" Mask? I heard he's popular recently?"

Julian nodded. "Yep. It's actually called a Keaton Mask."

"He's my boy's favorite!" The guard said excitedly. "That Keaton Mask… May I buy it?"

Julian shrugged and handed the mask over. Putting the mask on himself, the guard gave him three blue rupees.

"You can keep the change." He said as Julian was about to speak up.

Julian sighed and led Link back down into the village. "It's almost night time, so we might as well rest up."

O-0-0

Fully rested, the Triumvirate _finally_ set out for Death Mountain once more. As they climbed the trail, Julian tutored Link and Navi on the Gorons.

"Did you know that, to this day, no one has ever seen a female Goron?" He asked as they climbed a especially rocky area.

"Why do we need to know that?" Link asked, grumpy about the fact they ran out of food several hours ago.

"I don't know. It's interesting trivia, though. Also, don't eat that Deku Nut. Thats… Thats not advisable."

Grumpily, Link put away the Deku Nut. "There better be food in Goron city." He griped.

"Actually, gGrons eat igneous rock directly from Dodongo's Cavern."

"Thank you for telling me that crucial information. I'll make sure to order the highest quality Rock Sirloin."

O-0-O

It was night time when they arrived in Goron City.

"We're here already?" Julian asked, surprised. "Why haven't we seen Dodongo's Cavern yet? We should have passed it hours before we even arrived here…"

Link shrugged. "I don't care, as long as there's edible food around here. Or even better, if we can get the Spiritual Stone and get back down to Kakariko before the day is out."

"Big Brother took it away." Said a nearby Goron. Their appearance shocked Link; They had the appearance of rock, complete with a rocky back. They were large, and had a lot of belly fat. However, that didn't mean they were fat; They were well-muscled and looked as if they could crush Link with one hand, without even trying. Strangely, they looked as if they haven't ate in a long while.

"Wha-What do you mean, Big Brother took it away?" Link asked.

"Big Brother shut himself away in his room, saying 'I will wait in here for the Royal Family's Messenger!"

Link sighed, figuring out that whatever happened next, it was going to be another long day.

O-0-O

After talking to a few other Gorons, the Triumvirate was able to deduce that Big Brother lived on the bottom floor of the city. Soon, they were at his door, which was welded shut.

"Well, He's waiting for the Royal Family's messenger." Julian said. "You should probably play Zelda's lullaby."

"I know." Link snapped, drawing out his ocarina. After thinking for a few moments to remember how the song went, he played Zelda's lullaby, causing the door to open.

They entered a new room, with a torch blazing and a Goron pacing the room. This particular goron looked different from the others; He didn't just have muscles, he _rippled_ with them. He had a long beard and hair, which was rare for Gorons. His eyes were purple, and he wore metal bands on his wrists and ankles. On his shoulders was what must have been the sign of the Gorons; Three small triangles on top of a geometrical kite.

He stopped pacing when he saw them. "What the heck?" He demanded. "Who are you?!" He shouted as they entered. "When I heard the song of the Royal Family, I expected their messenger had come. But… you're just a couple of kids! Have I really lost so much status to be treated like this by the king, my own Sworn Brother?!"

Link felt frustrated and even saw a flash of annoyance from Julian. Link was about to argue with the Goron, but Julian grabbed his arm. "Don't, and I repeat, _Don't_ Get into a fight with a Goron." He hissed. "Gorons are the most physically powerful creatures in Hyrule. Even I could not win a wrestling match with one. And don't think they're dumb either; Gorons are very intelligent along with their superior strength. They can and they will beat you in a physical _and_ mental battle. Their only fault is their short and volcanic temper." Raising his voice, he spoke to the Goron. "We actually weren't-"

"Get out of my face, NOW" the goron roared.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Julian said, putting his hands up in resignation. "Why are you in such a foul mood?"

Now, the Goron was shouting at the top of his lungs, which had caused Link's ears to ring like all the noise in Hyrule Castle Town Market tenfold. "Ancient creatures have infested Dodongo's Cavern! We've had a poor harvest of our special crop, the Bomb Flowers! Starvation and hunger because of the food shortage! But… this is a Goron problem! We don't need any help from strangers!"

Reluctantly, they turned around and left the Goron.

O-0-O

"Well, that went well." Link said sarcastically as they left the goron's room.

Julian was bristling with frustration. "If only goron's weren't _so_ stubborn…"

They stopped as music began to play from a nearby tunnel. Both Link and Julian stopped, and Navi peeked out from under Link's cap. "What's going-Oh." She stopped and listened to the music.

"Is that…" Julian began, then shook his head. "That's the same song I heard back when I met you, Navi!" He said. Thoughts of the stubborn goron forgotten, they ran into the tunnel. It wasn't far before they found several boulders blocking the tunnel off.

"These boulders are blocking our way." Link noted.

Julian glared at him. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. There's a couple Bomb Flowers over there, so we can blow those boulders up."

The Bomb Flowers looked similar to bombs, hence their name. They were a spherical shape, with a blue covering that felt was a couple of spikes on the top, probably the fuse.

Link tugged on the flower, and after a little resistance he managed to pull it out. The friction caused by the plucking caused the spikes to be set aflame, causing the sphere to turn red. Link yelped, dropped the Bomb Flower, and ran. Soon, an explosion was heard, and Link turned around to find that the boulders were gone.

Julian looked at him. "Well? Are we going through or not?" He asked.

 **A/N some more dev info: Dragonians are a race of creatures I created when I was around 10 years old. they used to just be humans with advaned technology, but every now and then I look back on them, realize that there was a detail I found stupid or irrelevant, and slowly ut surely forged Dragonians into the bipedal dragonoids tha they are today.**


	10. Back to the Forest

**A/N Hey! 10 chapters! I'm actually really happy that we reached so minor a milestone! I hope you guys will continue to enjoy the story of The Triumvirate and soon discover the secrets of our favorite Dragonian! Also, if you have Discord, you can join this channel I made to work as the general community for this story! Anyways, enjoy! (Tad problem: still figuring out how to get the link to all you dear readers XD)**

Stats of Link: Level: 12.22 Health: 2.5 Defense: 2.25 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Seven days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

After several hours of trekking in darkness, the Triumvirate emerged to find themselves in… The Lost Woods, the part of the Forbidden Forest that not even the Kokiri dared venture into.

"Interesting…" Julian muttered, perplexed. Link cheered and raced off toward some nearby bushes, where he started munching on some edible berries (The Great Deku tree had taught him what berries in the forest were edible and which weren't, and anyways, he was too hungry to care). Once he was done, he noticed a strange melody floating through the air, sounding peaceful yet exciting as well.

They soon got lost, hence the name of the forest. After wandering for hours, Link decided to fire a Deku Seed at a nearby tree in a clearing to mark where they were. After walking in a straight line, they arrived back in the clearing.

"This is ridiculous." Julian said as Link fired another seed at the same tree. "We couldn't have walked in a circle!"

They walked in another direction, while Julian tracked their direction by dragging his tail across the ground. Yet strangely, they soon arrived at the clearing once more.

"Farore!" Julian cursed. "Okay, I'll look at the forest from the sky. You stick here and don't move anywhere." He jumped high in the air, flapped his huge wings a few times, and soon reached beyond the treeline.

Since Link had nothing better to do, he pulled out his slingshot and fired one more seed at the tree. To Link's shock, a Deku Scrub popped out of the stump of a nearby tree and looked at the seed marks.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry…" Link said, reaching for his Deku Shield.

"Oh, no worries!" The scrub said. "I'm a huge fan of slingshots. You got 3 bulls-eyes in a row! You're cool! I've got to give you something for that! Please take this as a present!" He spat a large bag toward Link, which landed at his feet. Link picked it up, surprised at the lack of saliva, and saw it was an even larger seed bag, which could probably hold up to fifty Deku Seeds.

"That was great." Said a small voice behind Link. He jumped, and had already had his sword halfway out of its sheath before he saw who it was. There were two small, humanoid creatures who were pitch-black all over, and they wore a variety of clothes made from dead leaves, such as a tunic resembling that of Link's, a hat, shoes, and gloves. The hat had a series of some grey rings, as well as the belts around their waist. They had huge lips and carried flutes.

"That's a Skull Kid…" Navi whispered under Link's cap. "Is this what happens to kids who stray into the Lost Woods? He might be our friend if we do something…"

"That's a nice ocarina you have." Said the second one eyeing it attached to his belt, which also had the slingshot and his satchel. "Will you play a song with us?"

Link tried to see if there was any dangers, but he didn't have Julian's spot-on accuracy, and hence didn't see any. Link shrugged and pulled the ocarina off of his belt.

"Okay then!" Said the first. "Follow along with our song on your ocarina. We'll lead you into it."

They played six notes slowly, and Link repeated them. The Skull Kids played the six notes at a faster pace, and seven new ones very slowly. After Link repeated the thirteen notes, they replayed all thirteen along with eight new ones. Soon the three were playing all twenty-one notes at a fast pace, repeating the notes to create a great song.

"That was quite a nice session!" Said the first one after they stopped.

"As a token of our friendship, please take this." Said the second, handing Link a Heart Piece. Both of them ran into the woods, and soon disappeared.

"Bye!" Link called. "I would like to do another session with you someday!"

"Who are you talking to?" Julian demanded, flying down.

O-0-O

After Link described his encounter, Julian nodded slowly. "I see." He finally said. "It's probably a good thing that I wasn't around then."

Link quizzically looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Julian laughed. "I'm sixteen in dragonian years. In my home world of Dragonia, we age even slower than you humans. That means that in your years, I'm sixty-four years old."

"And why would they care about your age?"

Navi sighed. "Skull kids hate adults, Link." She said. "Maybe it's because they are cursed to wander the Lost Woods forever, never to grow up. But that's just a theory among us faeries."

"Regardless, We need to get going soon." Julian said. "While I was up there, I found the the way to a strange grove, and I have a feeling we need to go there."

"Link… Good to see you again!" Said Kaepora Gaebora, flying into the clearing.

Julian did a double take. "But-What the-How the- Where did you come from?" He said, clearly shocked. "I would have seen you if you were coming here!"

Kaepora's eyes seemed to smile. "I have my ways." He said. "Now… Listen to this! Hoot hoot… After going through the Lost Woods, you will come across the Sacred Forest Meadow, a sacred place where few have ever visited." He cocked his head. "Listen… Do you hear that mysterious tune?"

"Yes. We've been hearing it since we got here." Link said flatly. Julian smacked him.

"Don't disrespect him!" He said sharply. "Kaepora is wise, and sometimes you need to state the obvious to eventually tell something you never even knew."

Kaepora had continued on. "You should listen to it." He was saying. "If you are courageous, you will make it through the forest just fine… just follow your ears and listen to that tune! Hoot hoot!" He flew off, and after a couple seconds Julian took up to the air and came back down almost immediately.

"He's already gone." He said in awe. "I have to figure out how he does that stuff…"

With no other leads to follow, Link decided to trust Julian to locate the source of the strange music.

O-0-O

They followed the sound of the tune, making so many turns and roundabouts that Link soon lost all sense of direction. Soon, they arrived at yet another clearing, but this one had old, moss-covered stone walls forming a maze, It's length too far to walk around.. Julian flew on top of the walls, and guided Link through it, warning him whenever a Deku Scrub was around the corner.

They finally crossed the maze, and arrived at the back of the clearing, where a large, old castle rested, its doorway high up. There used to be a staircase, but age seemed to collapse the middle section out, making it impossible for Link to climb.

However, that wasn't what caught Link's eyes. He saw Saria sitting on a stump, playing an ocarina that was a perfect replica of his.

Julian grinned. "So it was you who played the song, huh?" He asked.

Saria returned the smile, then looked at Link. "I've been waiting for you, Link!" She said. "This is the sacred Forest Meadow. It's my secret place! I feel… I feel like this place will be important for the both of us someday. If you play the ocarina here, you can talk with the spirits in the forest. Why not play with me?"

"C'mon, Link." Julian said, pulling out his own. "It's been awhile since I last had a break from all that adventuring. Let's sit down and play for a few minutes."

Link glared at him (Like he was going to say no to Saria's invitation) but decided now was not the time to argue with him.

He pulled out his own Ocarina, and soon the three of them were playing Saria's Song. every creature within several miles stopped to listen to the music, which had been playing before, now sounded louder and more beautiful with three ocarinas.

O-0-O

"Great! Great!" Saria said as they stopped playing. "Please don't forget this song! promise?"

Link nodded. "I'll never forget it, Saria." He said. Julian nodded in agreement.

Saria smiled. "When you want to talk to me anytime, anywhere, play Saria's Song. you can talk to me anytime…"

As they left the Sacred Forest Meadow, Julian looked at Link's tiredness. After a while, he said, "You should get some sleep, Link. We have a big day ahead of us."

For once, Link didn't complain. They set up camp, and within moments he had fallen asleep.

Julian stared wistfully at the sky, thinking about his past, Link, and the future ahead...

O-0-O

The next morning, they decided to return to Goron City. However, the forest was not done with them yet, and hence they soon got lost and arrived at yet another clearing.

Julian stopped and sighed. "Guess I'll do aerial coverage, then." He said. Before Link could reply, he took to the sky and soon disappeared over the treetops.

Link started grumbling about Julian, but stopped once he saw another Skull Kid.

"Grown-Ups can be so mean, you know?" The Skull Kid saw upon seeing Link's face.

"Yeah, I hear you." Link replied, sitting on a stump.

They were silent for a while, then the Skull Kid said, "Hey, do you want to play a song on that Ocarina? You can choose the song if you want."

Link grinned. "Why not?" He pulled out his Ocarina, thought for a moment, then played Saria's Song on it.

"Link?" Saria's voice came from nowhere, as she said it would. "I see you played my Song! If you can hear me, then you are at a place connected to the forest!"

"Uh… Saria?" Link said. "I'm kinda still in the forest, and I'm kinda lost there as well. Julian's taken to the sky to do aerial coverage, but he hasn't returned yet and I'm next to a Skull Kid."

"Oh, no worries!" Saria said. "I can lead you where you need to go in the forest. I'll lead you out once Julian comes back."

"Hey, you know Saria's Song!" The Skull Kid said. "We should be friends! Take this as a token of our friendship." He walked up to Link and gave him a Heart Piece. Then he laughed and ran off into the woods.

"What the- Who was that?!" Julian exclaimed, jumping down from a nearby tree.

"A Skull Kid." Link said. "He seemed kind of friendly…"

Julian cocked his head. "When I came back, I sensed something strange about him… something big involving him will happen in the near future… nah, it's probably nothing."

He shook his head, then looked around. "I'm not sure where to go, frankly. I can't find that tunnel that led to Goron City…"

"Problem solved!" Saria said, causing Julian to jump and look around in shock (much to Link's enjoyment). "Just tell me which landmark you are at, and where you need to go, and I'll be able to lead you there."

Julian, having realized the magic of Saria's Song was working, was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "We're in a clearing that has two stumps, one large and one small. There is a shaft of sunlight casted across the center of the clearing. There are several dozen trees large enough to be a few decades old, and each one of them looks like an oak tree. We need to go to an area that has a stone support for a tunnel, surrounded by a mixture of oaks and elms. That area also has a large boulder on the side of the tunnel, looking as if it were blocking a small and empty cave."

Saria was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Head north. Then after a few minutes, turn west and head straight for a couple more. Then…"

She continued giving odd directions, sometimes making them turn back and head in the opposite direction. After a few hours, they arrived back at the stone tunnel that led to Goron City.

"Thanks, Saria!" Link called as they entered. Saria gave a reply, but it was too quiet for Link to hear.

Julian, however, had acute enough hearing to hear her say "Anytime, Link."

O-0-O

By noon, they had managed to arrive, at last, back at Goron City.

"Well…" Julian mused. "Saria's Song seems to lift spirits and such, so maybe we can play it to that Goron who shouted at us yesterday. What do you think?"

Link was surprised that Julian was asking for his opinion. Didn't he just forge ahead with his own thoughts?

"Er… what? Oh, uh… yeah, I guess so." Link said, recovering from that shock.

They went over to Big Brother's room to see if the theory could work.

"What the heck?!" He demanded upon seeing them. "I told you that this is a Goron problem! Now get out of my face before I make you!"

"Just shut up and listen." Julian said, pulling out his ocarina and playing Saria's Song.

His eyes widened as he heard the song, a large grin grew on his face, and soon he started dancing. Fortunately, this seemed to cheer him up. Unfortunately, he danced by waving his arm and jumping around, causing Link and Julian to scramble backwards, afraid to get kicked by accident. Saria, hearing all of these things, decided not to question them, considering that whoever was dancing liked the song.

After a while, Big Brother finally stopped. "Hey!" He said. "What a nice tune! Just like that, my depression is all gone! Something just came over me, and I wanted to dance like crazy!" He smiled at them. "My name is Darunia. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Link and Julian, who were a good ten feet away, stood silent for a moment. Finally, Julian coughed and stepped forward. "We were looking for the Goron's Ruby, also known as the Spiritual Stone of the Mountains." He said.

Darunia frowned. "What?" He exclaimed. "You want the stone, too?" He then sighed. "The Goron's Ruby is our race's hidden treasure… I can't just give it to you!"

"But we need the Spiritual Stone to stop Ganondorf!" Link cried, throwing his arms out.

Darunia glared at him. "If you want it so badly, why don't you just destroy the monsters inside Dodongo's Cavern, thus proving you're a man? That way, everyone will be happy again! I will give you anything you want, even if it's the Spiritual Stone!"

Link opened his mouth, but Julian clamped it shut. "Ah. okay then." He said, shooting a look at Link that clearly said _Don't ask._ "But uh… Where _is_ Dodongo's Cavern? I'm sure we would have seen it, but we didn't see any opening…"

Darunia sighed. "That's another problem. Ganondorf blocked the entrance as a way to get the Spiritual Stone, but even then I refused to give it to him. This has been what caused our starvation here. If you look over the edge of the cliff near the entrance to our city, you will find the entrance blocked by the boulder."

Julian nodded. "I see. Well, we better get going now. We'll get it open before the day is out!"

As they exited Darunia's room and headed toward the entrance of the city, Julian told Link, "Goron's can't stomach sedimentary rock, which is what this city is made of. Metamorphic rock is far too deep into Dodongo's Cavern for them to reach, so the igneous rock is all they can live on."

Link nodded in understanding, and they went toward Dodongo's Cavern.

O-0-O

They stood on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a large boulder blocking the entrance of Dodongo's Cavern.

"So… What now?" Link asked. "I don't exactly have a bomb bag on me."

Julian shrugged. "I don't know. Why not ask the Bomb Flower a couple yards to your right?"

Link glared at him, but picked up the flower and tossed it at the boulder. There was a large explosion, and the boulder fell apart, leaving an opening to the cave.

"Well? Shall we go?" Julian asked, jumping off the cliff and using his wings to get down there the fast way. Link grumbled and walked down the trail by himself.


	11. Dodongo's Cavern

**A/N I do apologize that this dungeon was only done in one chapter. As there's three parts of this dungeon, I couldn't find a appropriate split, and thus the chapter ended up as it is. I'll try to make it up in one of the upcoming chapters! (On the draft, I'm so far ahead, this probably isn't going to be fulfilled for a few months).**

Stats of Link: Level: 14.2 Health: 2.75 Defense: 2.5 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Eight days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

Dodongo's Cavern was quite small.

"Oh, wait a minute… There's a cracked wall here." Link said. He found a nearby Bomb Flower and threw it at the wall, blowing an opening and revealing the main chamber of the Cavern.

Dodongo's Cavern was quite large. The ceiling and walls were supported by a massive rib cage, complete with a spine on the very top. In the center far back was a large skull, which once belonged to a very, very large Dodongo.

"Dear Nayru…" Julian breathed. "Whoever owned these bones must have been a monstrous Dodongo, extremely feared throughout Death Mountain. Just thank the Goddesses that it's dead…"

"It looks like there are many lava pits around here…" Navi noted, looking around. "Do watch your step!"

Link was now grateful for the Hylian Shield that Julian made him buy; It would be far too easy for his Deku Shield to burn up in this environment.

Link carefully hopped across some of the pits. They weren't completely lava, he realized. They were more rock than lava, but they were still hot enough to give him a first-degree burn.

They found a map of the Cavern, crudely carved on rock with Goron hands. Off to their right from where they entered was a small tunnel. The Triumvirate followed it, soon arriving at another room. This one appeared to be empty, but then some small, green, legless lizards dug up from the ground.

"You'd better watch out for those." Julian said. "Dodongos have a tendency to explode when they're in their death throes, and they are easy to kill when they are a baby, which are these."

"Why would I want to kill these?!" Link exclaimed, shocked. He quickly got his answer as two of them jumped at him, trying to eat a limb off.

Link yelped and hacked at them with his sword, causing them lay twitching. "Get out of the way!" Julian screamed. "They're about to explode!"

Link scrambled out of the way as the first one detonated, splattering its guts all around. The second one exploded soon after, creating a hole in the side of the tunnel.

"Nasty creatures, those Dodongos." Julian said, looking sick. Navi and Link were too busy hurling to reply.

O-0-O

They found a Golden Skulltula in the unintentionally created tunnel, and they continued onward.

Soon, the Triumvirate entered a large chamber with lava pits and few footholds. Two bipedal lizards dropped from the floor , and came charging at them.

"Those are Lizalfos, Link!" Julian cried out. "They are skilled with that dagger of theirs, so focus on your defense and attack when their guard is down!"

Link and Julian split up, taking their own Lizalfos. Link's Lizalfos stabbed his dagger toward Link, but Link quickly spun around, causing the dagger to shatter against the Hylian shield. Link performed a spin attack, slicing the Lizalfos across the stomach.

It screeched in pain, landing on the floor and twitching violently.

Those few minutes would be branded into Link's memory forever.

O-0-O

Link was curled up into a ball, shivering despite the heat in the chamber. Julian knew he was in shock, having killed an intelligent creature. He sighed; it hadn't been easy for him, either. He looked at his right claw, which was covered in the blood of the second Lizalfos. Julian had ripped out the heart of the first one, then crushed its skull, ensuing a quick but horrid death.

 _Three-hundred forty eight..._

His life had changed drastically since he entered Hyrule. First he had to stop that demonic wizard, then his homeworld was…

He shook his head. _Don't worry about that._ He told himself. _There are more important matters to take care of._ He walked up to Link and put his right claw, the one that wasn't bloody, on Link's shoulder. "It's hard the first time," He said, giving Link eyes that held sympathy, but absolutely no pity. "It always is, believe me. And let me tell you; It never gets easier. All we can do is learn how to better cope with the deed."

"But… How?" Link choked out, clearly horrified with what he'd done.

 _Interesting question…_ Julian thought. _How, indeed, does one cope with killing sentient species? Do you have to turn into a monster yourself? Or is that worse than being tormented by the ghosts of past souls?_

O-0-O

Julian allowed Link a couple hours to compose himself, then they kept on moving. Link's initial shock caused him to not really remember how they went through the next part of Dodongo's Cavern, but he did know that Julian solved the next several puzzles, opening up a door leading to the west section of Dodongo's Cavern, finding the compass, killing a few more Golden Skulltulas, and managed to force Link into another room when another fight with another two Lizalfos started.

They entered the last room of the exterior. This one had a large chest, and off to their left was a maze they had to go through earlier.

Link finally managed to snap out of his stupor and opened the chest. Inside was a small bag filled with about twenty peach-sized bombs.

"This is a bomb bag!" Julian said. "It's made of a Dodongo's stomach, so no need to worry about any of the bombs suddenly firing up. Lucky you!"

They continued onward, and soon reached the main chamber once more, this time on the second floor of it. There was a large sign carved with some letters.

 _Giant dead Dodongo._ It read. _When it sees red, a new way to go will be open._

"What do you think that's about?" Navi asked.

Julian had already figured it out, and flew to the huge skull in the center of the room. "There seems to be a blast-operated switch here." He reported. "I think that if we were to put two bombs on the eye and detonate them simultaneously, we could open a path… wherever it is."

He and Link worked together to place a couple of bombs on the skull's eyeholes, and then Julian lit the fuses at the same time. The bombs, while small, exploded violently, causing the eyeholes of the skull to turn red.

There was rumbling, like an minor earthquake occurred, and the mouth of the skull fell open, revealing a door.

Julian looked at Link, then said, "Do you want to continue? We can finish this tomorrow, if you want."

Link knew what Julian meant. After what happened in the cavern, Link would probably need some rest. He knew that Julian was offering him a way out, so he could recover from the shock of… that.

"No." He said finally. "Are you trying to make me look weak? I can continue onward right now."

Julian shrugged. "Whatever you say."

O-0-O

The room behind the skull was large compared to the other rooms, and relatively empty except for a switch and several Keese that were on fire.

"... Is that normal?" Link asked, staring at the Keese.

"Actually, yes, it is." Julian said. "Keese have a thick enough hide that you can set them on fire and they'll still live normally. Some wizards even cast a spell on them so they can have some kind of blue fire on them as well, causing them to freeze anyone on contact."

Link shivered. "I hope we don't encounter those, then." He walked over to the switch, and stepped on it. The portcullis on a nearby door opened, but when Link stepped off the switch, it popped back up and the portcullis slammed down again.

"It seems this is a held switch…" Julian mused.

With no other choice, they went through a tunnel on their left, arriving in a maze-like area. It was simple to go through, and they went through it (and found another Golden Skulltula) without any incident.

They arrived at the same room as before, but this time on a alcove with a block. Link pushed the block off the alcove, and as he backtracked to the lower level Julian pulled it onto the switch. They now entered the room, to confront the monster causing the starvation of the gorons.

O-0-O

The boss room was quite small.

"Oh, wait a minute... There's a cracked floor here." Julian said. He took a bomb from Link, planted it on the floor, blowing a hole into the center of the room. They jumped down, falling for a few dozen meters before landing on the ground (Julian had caught Link when he jumped down to avoid breaking any of his bones).

The boss room was quite large. There was a huge pit in the middle of the room that was closer to lava than the previous pits they had seen, and walls surrounded them, making a small, rectangular ring of rock as a foothold.

Unfortunately, the Triumvirate wasn't the only ones in the room. There was a large Dodongo, which was huge with grey scales and blue crystals protruding from its shoulders. There was a large horn on it's forehead, as well as a few smaller ones across it's spine.

"At least it's not as large as the skeleton in the main chamber…" Julian said, trying to relieve the panic rising in Link's throat. Somehow, it was working.

"This is a huge Dodongo that eats anything!" Navi shouted. "Give it a shock, and finish it off with your sword!"

"How do I shock it?" Link cried, looking for any weakness in the Dodongo's armored scales. He didn't find any. The dodongo opened it's mouth, and started inhaling.

"It's about to breath fire!" Julian said. "Get out of the way!"

Link dove, narrowly missing the Lava pit, as the Dodongo unleashed a mighty fireball, being able to bounce off the walls twice before fading. Those walls in question started sizzling under the heat. Then, the Dodongo curled up into a ball and attempted to run Link over, but Julian pulled him out of the way just as the Dodongo started moving.

Link's eyes widened. "I got an idea!" He shouted, pulling free from Julian's grip. He ran across the ring, eventually reaching the Dodongo. When it opened it's mouth to create another fireball, Link threw a bomb inside of it. It instantly blew up, causing the Dodongo to collapse, stunned.

Within moments, Link and Julian were attacking it, striking at the mouth and belly. It roared, and got up, beginning to roll. However, the Dodongo took too much damage, and thus rolled around in a wobbly line, eventually crashing into the lava pit. It roared in agony as its body caught flame, and soon all that was left of it was the head, front feet, and a Heart Container. The lava had cooled considerably, hardening into a warm igneous rock as heat transmission occurred between the lava and the Dodongo.

"... I might have a tad problem getting out of here." Link said, looking at how the only way out was the vertical tunnel they had taken to get there.

Julian sighed. "I guess my dignity can suffer one blow."


	12. A Magical Ability

**A/N: I'm so sorry this was late (yet again). Instead of just making excuses, I'll just flat-out say that Sonic Heroes has been keeping me busy. I've been trying to 100% that game, and just recently I obtained all the A-ranks and am halfway through Super-Hard mode. In unrelated news, have you folks heard of the newly-discovered Rainbow Coin in Donkey Kong 64? I mean, we got people figuring out complicated glitches in games involving pausing and unpausing multiple times, hitting walls at specific angles, Parallel Universes, etcetera, and it took 17 years to discover a coin hidden in a patch of grass. *laughs* Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

Stats of Link: Level: 16.48 Health: 3.25 Defense: 3 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

 _Eight days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

Once they finally got out of Dodongo's Cavern, They were surprised to have Darunia drop in on them. Literally, as he jumped from the cliff above and landed on his back right next to them. There was a loud crack as a web of lines spread across the ground, and Darunia got up and grinned at the Triumvirate.

"Well done!" He said, patting Link and Julian lightly. For a Goron, that meant he smashed both of them into the ground. "Thanks to you, we can eat the delicious igneous rocks from Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst!"

"Thanks to you, my spinal cord is a few inches lower than what it should be." Link grumbled quietly, getting up.

O-0-O

After telling of their adventure in Dodongo's Cavern, Darunia grinned. "What a wild adventure!" He said."It will make an incredible story…" He frowned. "I can't believe that the Dodongos suddenly appeared in such great numbers! And that big rock that blocked the cave… all this trouble was caused by that gerudo thief, Ganondorf! He said, 'Give me the Spiritual Stone! Only then will I open the door for you!' You, on the other hand, risked your lives for us… I like you two!"

"Ganondorf, huh?" Julian said, nodding. "Figures, since he caused the Great Deku Tree…"

There was a long silence. Finally, Darunia said, "How about you two and I become Sworn Brothers? Don't worry, there's no big ceremony or anything… Just take this as a token of our friendship!"

He raised his hands, and there was a flash of light. When Link looked again, he saw Darunia holding a Ruby in the shape of a V, with golden borders making it look more like the symbol of the Gorons.

 _Link, Julian, and Navi got the Goron's Ruby! This has been passed down by the Gorons for generations, and Link may be the first Hylian to touch it in centuries! Apparently, it's now clear that Ganondorf is hunting for the Spiritual Stones as well..._

"Brother," Darunia said. "You'll keep brushing up on your skills as you travel, won't you?"

"Yep!" Link said, nodding.

Julian laughed. "I'll make sure he does!" Link glared at him, and in response Julian stuck his tongue out and winked.

Darunia grinned. "You should go see the Great Faerie on top of Death Mountain!" He said. "She'll power you up! Hey, everybody! Let's see off our brother!" Half a dozen Gorons jumped down from the cliff as well, landing on their backs and coming up unfazed.

Julian blinked. "See ya." He said quickly, taking to the sky even as he finished.

"How about a big Goron hug?" Said one of the Gorons. Link screamed and raced up the trail, while Navi snickered and followed Julian.

O-0-O

They climbed the mountain all day, finding two more Golden Skulltulas and a Heart Piece. Finally, they arrived at the peak, tired and exhausted. Or at least Link was.

"You sure this is the right place?" He asked as he climbed one last ledge, collapsing and breathing heavily.

"Link, Darunia said the Great Faerie lived on top of Death Mountain." Julian sighed, landing next to him. "I'm sure we're in the right place, unless by 'Top of the mountain' he meant 'Straight into Death Mountain Crater, which is too hot for you to last sixty-five seconds in.' Come on, let's get moving."

"Lovely." Navi griped. "First I get pelted by flaming boulders as we climbed up here, now I have to deal with the two of you snapping at each other like two Wolfos over a carcass. Can you two just-"

"Shut up, Navi!" Both boys shouted at the same time, then looked at each other in surprise. They weren't intending to be rude, but Kaepora Gaebora was waiting for them, perched on a nearby signpost.

"You've done very well to get all the way here!" Kaepora said. "This is the summit of the sacred Death Mountain! Hoot! It is said that the clouds surrounding this peak reflect the condition of Death Mountain. When they look normal, they are at peace." Navi's jaw dropped at that, since it meant her arguments about the flaming boulders were invalid. Julian and Link both snickered.

"Coming here proves just how strong you are!" Kaepora continued, oblivious to what just transpired. "Now, I want to see you make another smart move…" With one of his wings, he gestured around the peak. "The Great Faerie lives on this Mountaintop, and she will give you a new skill! She _is_ the leader of the faeries, you know. Hoo! I will perch here and wait for you. When you're ready to go back down, I can help you! Now, get going!"

Link and Julian took a long look around the wide cliff. "You know… just to be sure, I'll check the crater." Julian said.

O-0-O

Just a few hours before dawn, Link found it. He was tapping his fist against the walls, and he heard a slight difference in one section of the wall. Taking a bomb out, he lit it and threw it at the wall, blowing it up and revealing a tunnel.

"The good news is," Julian was saying while they went through the tunnel. "I found another Golden Skulltula and a Heart Piece!"

"Hey, look! Over there!" Navi cried, flying forward. They had entered a room with white marble everywhere, with two marble torches blazing with a mysterious flame. Water cascaded down from the walls, though the source was unknown. There was a small pool in the back of the room, with small rings of water extending outward. Somewhere, a harp was playing beautiful music,

Navi flew over to the area between the torches, which had the insignia of the Triforce on it.

Understanding what she meant, Link pulled out his ocarina and played Zelda's Lullaby on it. There came a laugh louder than the harp, and there was a flash of light. A large woman with long, red hair and covered with vines appeared from the center of the pool. She wore a ridiculous amount of makeup, and besides the vines, she wore nothing else except for some leather boots and a ridiculous amount of makeup.

"Oh, Din..." Julian muttered. "Close your eyes, Link."

"Welcome, Link, Julian, and Navi!" The Great Faerie said. "I am the Great Faerie of Power! I am going to grant you a sword technique... recieve it now!" She made a kissing motion with her hands, and small orbs-whether green or white it was impossible to tell-extended from her face, and they floated toward Link and entered through his mouth..

There was no flash, or bang, or anything dramatic. Link just suddenly felt... Different. Not like when the Heart Containers and Heart Pieces made him feel stronger when it came to his health, but more like his bloodstream was buzzing with new activity. his senses felt more acute than ever, and a new bit of knowledge entered his mind; instructions on how to perform a magical spin attack, allowing him to unleash a wave of energy extending farther than his sword can normally reach.

"Hey, boy!" The Great Faerie said to Link. "You're a messenger of the Royal Family, are you?" Link nodded, and she continued. "Next time you're in their neighborhood, you should drop in on a friend of mine who lies by Hyrule Castle. She'll surely grant you a new power! When battle has made you weary, please come back to visit me!" With that, she laughed and disappeared into the pool.

"Wow." Link said after a while. "My body feels so… active."

Julian laughed. "That would be the magic. Now that you're technically a magical creature, you will need to learn how to control it. Rule number one: Always listen to that buzzing in your veins."

O-0-O

"Hoo-hoot!" Kaepora said as they exited the Great Faerie's cave. "Well, it looks like you've grown up a little from the Great Faerie's power… But you still don't look like the hero who will save Hyrule. At least not yet!" He added upon seeing Link's crestfallen face.

"If you are going down the mountain, I can lend you a wing." He continued. "Come here and grab my talons, and hold on tight!"

Kaepora flapped his wings and took to the air, but remained low enough for Link to grab on. "Go for it." Julian said. "I sure ain't going to fly you down myself." Julian took off, and slowly glided down the mountain, clearly enjoying the morning rays of the sun. Link grumbled something obscene and grabbed onto Kaepora's talons.

O-0-O

They soon went back to Hyrule Castle, making sure to nab another Heart Piece along the way as well as get plenty of sleep. By this time nearly two days had passed, and the Triumvirate arrived at the castle gate by sundown. Julian decided to keep Link busy for a while and gave him several red rupees and took him to a new game corner in the market. He then took off toward the castle, saying he was going to look for the Great Faerie's Fountain.

"Welcome to our new, cutting edge amusement center: The Bombchu Bowling alley!" said a perky woman who managed the game corner that Link was in. "Do you want to know what you can win this round? Well, It's a secret. I can't tell you until you payto play. It's thirty rupees per game!"

Link checked a nearby sign. _Bombchu Bowling Alley. Thirty rupees per game. Prizes: Bombs, Bombchu, Big Bomb Bag, Heart Piece. The prize per round is randomized._

"I guess so." Link sighed, dropping thirty rupees on the counter.

"Okay!" The manager said. "Aim for the hole in the center and let the Bombchu go! You get ten tries… Ready? Let's Bowl!" She then turned under her desk and came back up. "Oh, I almost forgot! Here's what you can win!" Amazingly, she had pulled out a heart piece. "Start!"

Link looked at his first target. It was easy to reach it, but there was a floor blade that could destroy the bombchus. Link set one down, aimed carefully, and lit it. The Bombchu scurried off, traveling in a straight line by means of zig-zags, barely missed the floor blade, and exploded upon contacting the target on the wall.

The wall slid down, revealing a new area for Link to get the bombchus across. There was a cucco walking around, and adding the floor blade made the next target harder. However, Link had easily seen the mechanics of the Bombchus, and was able to bring the second one down.

The third and final area had a larger cucco, but this one was stuck in the center of the room, making it nearly impossible for Link to get a Bombchu all the way across. Link pressed a bombchu on the floor, aimed very carefully, and timed the lighting so that it would miss all three obstacles and hit the final target.

"Winner!" Cried the manager as a explosion rang a bell, signifying that Link won. She handed him the Heart Piece, and asked if he wanted to play again.

Link agreed, and he continued playing until he managed to snag the Big Bomb Bag from the game.

O-0-O

As Link exited the shop, he found a woman strolling the streets, apparently distressed. "Is something wrong, Ma'am?" Link asked, being polite.

"I can't find my puppy anywhere!" She wailed. "I need you to look for it, Please! He's about the size between your foot and knee, has long white fur, and…" She continued rattling on about the description of the dog, and finally Link was able to break free to look for it.

Link spent the next few hours running across the streets of Hyrule Town Market, fending off anyone who wanted to rob him and looking for the dog bearing the same description the woman told Link. Soon, he found a dog matching the exact description near the Bazaar. The dog easily trusted Link, and followed him all the way back to his owner.

"Richard!" The woman cried in relief. "This is my little Richard! Thank you, thank you! I'll give this to you as a reward!" She handed Link a Heart Piece, and went into her house, Richard following her.

O-0-O

"You sure this is the right place?" Link asked as the Triumvirate regrouped near Hyrule Castle, at a dead end.

"Didn't we already have this discussion?" Julian said wearily. "Now that you are a magical creature, your bloodstream should be telling you the location right about now."

Julian was right; Link's bloodstream felt like it was pulling him toward a certain part of the dead end. Link walked over, and placed a bomb. "I'll go distract the guards." Julian sighed. "You better hurry up with whatever you're going to do."

Link lit the bomb, and it exploded with a loud bang. Julian waited a second or two, then raced from the dead end, and soon shouts and clangs came up as the guards attempted to catch him.

The tunnel was small, so Julian would not have fit into it. Link and Navi, however, were able to, and thus they soon arrived at the Great Faerie's Fountain. This fountain was almost exactly the same as the previous, except the walls were colored purple and the fires were green.

"Welcome, Link!" The Great Faerie said once Link pulled out his ocarina and played Zelda's Lullaby on it. "I am the Great Faerie of Magic! I will grant you a magic spell. Please take it."

There was a red glow, and with a flash, a eight sided, triangular crystal appeared in Link's hands. Link saw that there was a sphere of flames in the core of the object, burning brightly and intensely, but not even burning his hands.

"This is Din's Fire." The Great Faerie said. "It creates a large fireball that will engulf anything in a few meters with flame. You can also use Din's Fire not just to attack the forces of evil, but also to burn many things! When battle has made you weary, please come back to see me!" She disappeared into the pool, leaving Link and Navi to marvel at their new weapon.

O-0-O

"Din's Fire, huh? That's a pretty cool weapon!" Julian said as they regrouped at the Town Market. "This is a very powerful spell, so it will take a lot of magic. With this, I think it will cost you… Say, a quarter of your magic."

When Link's eyes widened at that, Julian laughed. "Don't worry, there's a way to replenish your magic," He continued. "Hyrule has a little something called Green Potion, which will refill your magic. Unfortunately, I don't have any on me, as I rely on dragonian technology over magic."

He yawned as the rising sun decided to peek over the horizon. "I haven't slept in six days, so I'm going to need to get some rest. Link, you're free to do whatever you want for the next day."


	13. The Way to be a Warrior

**A/N Again, late, but ironically this is because my thoughts were heavy on this very story. I recently got a copy of the GCN Master Quest for Ocarina of Time, and I've been wondering if I can implement the MQ elements into this story. Of course, if I do, you're not going to see them until, oh, say, the Shadow Temple, but I think it'd be an interesting take on the story!**

 **Also, yay! Last chapter of Arc 2! We're getting there!**

Stats of Link: Level: 9.89 Health: 3.75 Defense: 3.75 Magic: 24 Attack: 1 Spells: 2

 _Ten days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

The Triumvirate paid the Happy Mask Salesman ten rupees for the Keaton Mask, and got the Skull Mask. With no other leads, Link decided to check in on Malon and Talon of Lon Lon Ranch.

Upon arriving, they entered the first building on their right, ending up in a room with complete chaos as cuccos ran around, squawking and being rather loud. Talon, continuing to top himself with his laziness, was sleeping through the whole thing.

"How can he sleep through that racket?" Julian asked, his eyes narrowed due to the loud noise. Link seconded that, since the muscles near his ears were twitching in tune to every squawk that was uttered.

"Huh? I'm awake already!" Slurred Talon as Julian shut the door. He then blinked as he noticed them. "Wait, What? Well, I'll be! If it ain't the two forest kids form the other day!" Link and Julian snorted as Malon said "two" Forest kids. "By the way, thanks for waking me up! It took some doing, but I finally coaxed Malon up in a good mood. What are you two up to today?"

Link shrugged. "Nothing, really. I guess I have a bit of free time."

"You do that. I'll spend my time being productive in the field." Julian sighed, walking out the door.

Talon grinned. "Well, how about a little game? These three cuccos I have here are special super cuccos! I'm going to throw these cuccos into that there gaggle of normal cuccos. If you can pick out these three special birds within thirty seconds, I'll give you something good. If you can't find them, I win. How about it?"

Link nodded, and Talon continued. "All right! Here go the super cuccos! Start lookin'!"

Even though Link tried to watch all three of them, they were all swept up into the large gaggle of other cuccos. At first, it was impossible for Link to determine which one was a super cucco, picking the wrong one each time. Then, Link noticed that one cucco had a slightly darker plumage than the rest. After finding that out, it was relatively easy to pick out the super cuccos from the rest.

"Golly!" Talon exclaimed as Link brought back all three. "It's plum incredible! You found them all!"

He smiled at him. "You got the talent to be one of the world's best cowboys! How'd you like to marry Malon?"

Link's jaw dropped in shock, and Navi, who had been resting in Link's cap earlier, fell out of it laughing. Link started stuttering, trying to find a good way to refuse politely, when Talon laughed.

"I was just kidding!" He said, making a "Haw-haw-haw" sound in between words. "Just kidding! I think you're a little young for that, are you?"

He snorted a bit more after seeing Link's relieved face, then said, "Ohhhh… I'm proud to present to you a sample of our very own Lon Lon Milk! You'll be energized the very moment you drink it! Once it's empty, you can come back and buy a refill anytime you want!" He handed Link a bottle full of milk, who then took it and bolted out of the house.

O-0-O

"Oh man, my sides still hurt…" Navi said as they entered the corral in the middle of the ranch. Her eyes lit up when she saw a familiar figure. "Hey, Look! It's Malon!"

"Oh, it's the Faerie Boy again!" Malon exclaimed, spotting him. Link walked over to her and grinned sheepishly.

"Hi." He said.

"I heard that you found my dad!" Malon said, grinning along. "How did you like the castle? Did you see the princess?"

She giggled as Link's face blushed even more, turning it almost as red as Ganondorf's hair. "Dad came home in a hurry." She continued. Then she blinked, apparently having remembered something. "Oh yeah! I have to introduce you to my friend, Faerie Boy!" She whistled a few notes, and a small pony trotted up to her. "She's this horse. Her name is Epona. Isn't she cute?"

Epona studied Link, as did Link. Epona was beautiful, with orange hair covering her body and a white mane scrolled down her back. Her eyes were a solid brown, seeming to sparkle.

Link reached a hand out to pet her, but Epona bolted, not stopping until she reached the other end of the corral.

"It seems Epona is afraid of you, Faerie Boy…" Malon said sadly. Then her eyes lit up. "Is that an Ocarina on you?" She asked, spotting his ocarina on his belt, along with his slingshot and bomb bag. "There's this song my mother composed, just before she…" She sang the same notes that she whistled earlier. "Isn't it nice? Epona is trustful toward those who play this song. Maybe she'll like you then!"

After a few moments of translating, Link took the ocarina, put his lips to it, and blew the notes back.

As he finished the song, he looked up to see Epona next to him, her eyes studying him once more. After a few minutes, in which no one moved, Epona bowed her head. Understanding, Link put his hand on her snout, stroking it as trust built among the two.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Kaepora Gaebora was watching Link from high above. "This lad is learning fast, hoo hoot!" He said to himself. "I can't wait to see what he does next! Hoot hoo hoo hoo!"

O-0-O

After resting at Lon Lon Ranch for the day, Julian came back with a lead on the Spiritual Stone of the River. Yet for some strange reason, he was acting edgy the entire way there.

"What's wrong?" Link finally asked as they arrived at the base of the river a day later.

Julian sighed. "I'm not sure if you're ready, Link…" he said. "I mean, it's only been twelve days since we met. You haven't even been wielding that sword for two weeks. If we _do_ get the last Spiritual Stone, and if we find Ganondorf waiting for us at the end of this journey, how will you even stand up to him? He's had _years_ of combat experience."

Link frowned. "But I've seen you in combat." he said. "You could handle him, no doubt."

Julian remained silent and stared fixedly at the water clearly saying the discussion was over.

They started climbing the trail next to the river, heading towards Zora's Domain. After finding one more Golden Skulltula, they found a lone man sitting near a gate, munching on some beans.

"You want some magic beans?" The man asked. "They aren't selling very wel"

Link blinked. "Why would we need those?"

The man grinned. "You can plant them in soft soil, where they eventually grow into magic plants that you can ride to other destinations!" he said. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!"

Julian grinned. "We'll take ten." he said, handing the man roughly five hundred fifty rupees.

Link blinked. "Wha-"

Julian laughed. "These beans are expensive, Link." he said. "Each bean is worth fifty five rupees!"

He then sighed with relief. "Well, I know of a few places where planting these would be useful. Navi probably knows of some in the Forbidden Forest, but otherwise I'm sure we need ten of them." He started going back down the river. "Come on, Link. we're going on a journey."

O-0-O

The Triumvirate spent two weeks planting those beans, selling masks, and hunting Golden Skulltulas. By the time Julian decided that they had trained enough, they had twenty seven golden skulltula tokens, found three additional Heart Pieces, still had two magic beans left and, according to Julian, their wealth had tripled when they sold that Bunny Hood to that man in Hyrule Field. At the House of Skulltula, they had received yet another gift from one of the cursed children: A shard of stone called the Shard of Agony, which would rumble every time the holder neared a secret grotto.

During those two weeks of training, Link and Navi had advanced greatly in their studies. Navi now knew about dozens of creatures that lived in Hyrule, and was able to identify most of them immediately. Link had grown accustomed to wielding his sword and Deku Shield (he swapped the Hylian shield for it, saying the metallic one was too heavy for him) and was able to efficiently and quickly use his slingshot, was able to correctly handle bombs, and learned many different fighting techniques and skills for many different situations.

Link had also grown more accustomed to Julian, and was starting to treat him like a friend. They still had their frequent banter, but they seemed to simply argue for fun rather than to undermine the other.

They also met a new friend, Bonooru and his "brother," Pierre, two scarecrow music experts that lived in Lake Hylia. Their meeting was short, but Link composed a song for them before they left.

"Hoo hoo!" hooted a familiar voice from a tree above them as they started to climb the river once more. "Looks like you've gotten much bigger and stronger already, Link!" Kaepora Gaebora gestured with his wing toward the waterfall they could see near the peak of the river. "Just ahead lies Zora's Domain. The Zoras serve Hyrule's Royal Family by protecting this water source. Their door will not open for anyone except those who have some connection to the Royal Family. Let them hear the Royal Family's melody! Hoo hoo hoooot!"

Kaepora flew off, leaving the Triumvirate to tackle the last leg of their adventure to obtain the Triforce and stop Ganondorf.


	14. Arc 3: The Missing Princess

**A/N Yet another late update XD sorry there. I didn't anticipate the internet going down on Monday, and Tuesday I had to travel over to Chehalis, WA to get my first *new* Nintendo 3DS. If you're willing to follow me on it, I'll try to get my Nintendo Friend Code up on my profile ASAP, though all the internet games I have right now is Pokemon Sun, X, Alpha Sapphire, Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. However, on all of those games I'm really early on (and some I haven't even started yet!), so it'll take some time before I can fully become a part of the online 3DS community XD. For now, enjoy the story!**

 **P.S. All Hail Popplio, the Cutest of all Water Starters.**

Stats of Link: Level: 26.99 Health: 4.25 Defense: 4 Magic: 24 Attack: 1 Spells: 2

 _Twenty six days since the Great Deku Tree died…_

The Triumvirate followed the river, finding an additional two Heart Pieces and a Golden Skulltula. by midnight, they had arrived at the entrance to Zora's Domain, also known as the Sleepless Waterfall.

"Huh." Julian said, scanning a nearby plaque, plain brown and set into the ground at the foot of the waterfall. "Do you think this is what Kaepora meant by 'playing the song of the Royal Family?'"

Link pulled out his ocarina from his belt, and put the cool clay on his lips. He blew the notes of Zelda's Lullaby quietly, fluently flowing from one note to the next. Once the notes faded into silence, they were met with an amazing sight. The waterfall _parted,_ revealing a cave behind it.

Both boys jumped across the gap between the Platform they were on and the cave as Navi flew after them, and soon arrived at a beautiful cavern three stories tall, the bottom floor covered with water and the rest filled with spectres of the rainbow, having been reflected off the water from an unknown source and landing on the walls, giving it an eerie and magical look. A waterfall, not as large as the Sleepless Waterfall, cascaded down from a tunnel on the top floor and landed in the water on the bottom.

Link was also able to see zoras for the first time. The Zoras he saw were mostly men but there were a few females in the mix. Unlike the gorons of Death Mountain, they had a healthy physical build covered with scales similar to those of a fish. They had fins protruding from their elbows and waist, to help them navigate through water. They had fish-like tails protruding from their heads, which didn't make much sense to Link (Julian called them _Lekkus_ , but it didn't explain their location to Link). Their eyes were every color of the ocean, from Sea-green to a deep blue.

Some zoras eyed Link, but turned away once they saw Julian, once again in his normal, dragonian form.

They walked a set of stairs leading to the top floor, where they met the ruler of the zoras, a very large and fat zora who clearly was the king. The king had a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, my dear, sweet Ruto…" he murmured, not seeming to notice the Triumvirate as they approached.

"Is something wrong?" Julian asked, kneeling in respect. Link tried to copy him, but the water was so slippery he lost his footing and crashed to the ground, water spraying everywhere.

Julian smirked as Link tried to pick himself back up but fell back down an additional three times before getting into the proper kneeling position.

The king merely stared at them. "Not now." he said gruffly. "My daughter is missing, and every zora here is mad with worry for her. Whatever problem you have right now is not our priority. Leave us."

With yet another situation blocking their goal, they had no choice but to look for Ruto if they wanted to get the last Spiritual Stone. Deciding to look for clues, they explored some of the caves inside the domain. Eventually, they arrived at the opening of the smaller waterfall, where a Zora was fidgeting. Upon seeing them, the zora stopped and put on a fake smile.

"Hey there!" he said cheerfully. "This here is the diving game. It will cost twenty rupees to play!"

Julian grinned. "Oh? And what is the objective of the game?"

The zora was apparently happy to have a customer who did not have Ruto on his mind. "Okay! I will throw five blue rupees into the water below. If you can get all five of them within thirty seconds, and come back here, I will give you a prize!"

Julian's grin was even wider ("like his ego needed to be even bigger," Link grumbled to Navi), and he paid the zora a red rupee. The zora nodded, then reached around a cubbyhole in the cave and threw the rupees into the spray of the water. For Link, it was impossible to see where they landed due to the freakish light reflections and the water spray. He doubted Julian could even find them.

Julian jumped over the cliff, spun several times in a way that even caused the Zoras to whistle in amazement, and dove into the water without making a sound. Within ten seconds, Julian shot out of the water, flaring his wings when he shot over the cave, and on the descent, landed gracefully next to the zora.

"Here you go!" He said cheerfully, handing him the five blue rupees.

"What a graceful dive!" the Zora said, this time having pure delight on his face. "PLease take this! This is a 'scale' of our kind, which would allow you to dive much deeper!"

Julian blinked. "I have absolutely no need for this item, but Link's a horrid swimmer, so I'll give it to him."

"You've never even seen me dive yet." Link retorted. "The deepest water you've seen me in was five feet deep."

"It doesn't take much to know how well one can dive."

Link backed up and ran off the cliff, diving into the water. He did not resurface.

"...Should you go help him?" the Zora asked Julian after a minute of silence.

"...Yeah, I probably should."

O-0-O

After saving Link from drowning, Julian and Link decided to take a look around the bottom floor.

"You know, when I was in the water, I found this tunnel." Julian said. "The Zora's seemed to not notice it, and it _did_ look kind of worn. Do you think Ruto might have gone in there?"

Link shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I'm not going in there if there is Too much water."

Julian sighed and went into the water. Barely twenty seconds later he came back up. "There's pockets of air in that tunnel. You can swim in there."

Link's eye twitched. "Fine. it's not like we have any other leads to pursue…"

O-0-O

It took nearly two days for them to cross the tunnel. There were short periods of swimming followed by long periods of walking, and there was surprisingly no path but straight ahead. Long story short, the travel was suited specifically for zoras, being wet and cold. For the Triumvirate, the trip was all that plus miserable. When they finally crossed into open daylight, they found themselves on Lake Hylia, at the complete other end of Hyrule, in the southwest.

Link squinted, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the flaring sunlight.

Julian whistled. "Well, the zoras sure do know how to get around…" he said.

"The Zoras actually have a shortcut to go all the way from the northeast corner of Hyrule to the southwest? This is amazing… imagine how fast we could travel around Hyrule if they worked solely on transportation…"

"I'm sure it will be amazing." Link said, finally allowing his eyes to open to their normal fullness. Then he squinted once more. "What's that in the water?" he asked, pointing.

Julian dived down and retrieved the object. "It's a bottle." he said, examining it. "And it turns out there's something inside of it!" he popped open the cork and pulled the fairly dry piece of parchment out of the bottle.

 _Help me._ It read. _I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly. -Ruto. PS: Don't tell my father!_

Link sighed. "I'm assuming we're going to have to give this to King Zora?"

"You got that right." Julian said. "Now, as for the way back to Zora's Domain- aboveground or underground? Aboveground will take an additional day."

Link looked exasperated at Julian. "What do you think?"

O-0-O

Three days later, Link climbed Zora's River, played Zelda's Lullaby to the Sleepless Waterfall, and entered Zora's Domain. The Triumvirate decided to head over to King Zora first thing.

"Your majesty…" Julian said, bowing. "We have found a clue regarding Princess Ruto's whereabouts!" he handed the letter to the king.

Excitedly, he scanned the letter. "Hmm… lets see… she's inside Lord Jabu-Jabu?! That's not possible!" He shook his head before Link or Julian could say a thing. "Our guardian God, Lord Jabu-Jabu, would never eat my dear Princess Ruto!" He frowned. "But since that stranger, Ganondorf, came here, Lord Jabu-Jabu _has_ been looking green around the gills lately… the evidence seems clear"

Before either Link or Julian could say anything, King Zora nodded. "Yes. of course you'll go find Ruto. you can pass through here to the altar of Lord Jabu-Jabu. I'll keep the letter. Please find my dear Princess Ruto… honored member of the Zora race!

Julian was astonished. "You-you're accepting us as a member of your race?!"

The King nodded. "Yes. Now, off with you! Go save my daughter!"

What then followed was an awkward half minute of King Zora opening the way to Zora's Fountain by scooting over his mass bulk to move himself. Each time he scooted over, he made a little _msqweep_ sound. Finally, he stopped, and pretended to be interested in the waterfall underneath him.

Deciding not to comment, the Triumvirate hurried by.

O-0-O

They stood in front of Jabu-Jabu in the Zora fountain, which was a large pool over the Sleepless Waterfall.

"How do we get his mouth open?" Link asked. "Those jaws are locked tight…"

Julian grinned. "I got an idea. Wait here." He turned around and went back into Zora's Domain.

Link decided to busy himself by exploring the fountain, and came across a large, cracked wall. He knocked on it, and discovered that it was hollow. He placed a bomb in front of the crack, lit it, and watched the explosion blow a large tunnel into the wall.

"It's another Great Faerie fountain." Navi said, flying out of Link's cap. "I can feel the magic you want to go in?"

Link laughed. "Might as well."

Link walked through, and soon stood on the triforce insignia. He played Zelda's Lullaby, none to surprised when another Great Faerie appeared from the pool, laughing.

"Welcome, Link!" She said. "I am the Great Faerie of Magic! I will give you a magic spell… please take it."

She made a kissing motion, and a crystal object appeared in Link's hands. It was very similar to Din's Fire, but had a green sphere made of wind rather than a red one with fire.

"This is Farore's Wind." The Great Faerie said. "This is a kind of warp magic that can allow you to instantly escape when you are in danger! When you first use it, you will create a warp point so you can warp to the exact room the second time, or dispel the magic so you can create a new one. Remember, you can only use it in highly magical places like temples, okay?"

Link nodded. "Thank you, Great Faerie!" he said, bowing.

The Great Faerie laughed. "When Battle has made you weary, please come back to see me!" She disappeared into the pool once more.

Link looked over his new Magic Spell. "Huh. I guess this means that whenever I need to backtrack or if I'm in mortal danger, I can be able to do it quickly! neat!"

O-0-O

Link exited the Great Faerie fountain to find Julian near Jabu-Jabu.

"I can't believe it!" Julian said, clearly angered. "The fish here cost two hundred rupees! Talk about expensive! I don't know why people even buy fish from that store, because you can easily catch one in the water not one minute away from the store!"

"Um… okay. But what's this whole thing about fish?" Link asked.

Julian seemed to remember why he needed the fish he was holding in his hands. "Oh, right. If we need Jabu-Jabu to open his mouth, then we got to give him an offering. What better offering than his favorite food, a fish?"

Link looked at him. "Seriously, how do you even know all this stuff? How do you even know what a whale-fish thing's favorite food is?"

Julian blinked. "What are you talking about? I got all that from King Zora."

"Nevermind."

Julian gently put the fish next to Jabu-Jabu. Smelling it, the whale opened his mouth and breathed deeply, inhaling the fish. So powerful was his inhale, that it even sucked in Julian, Link and Navi, who screamed as they tried to fight such a powerful vacuum.


	15. Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly: The Search

**A/N I've found myself playing Pokemon Shuffle quite a lot lately. It's a pretty addicting game that follows the Bejeweled puzzle format, with the fun twists of type match-ups, mega evolutions, and standard Pokemon level up. I've been spending quite some time in the Special Event portion of the game, trying to catch the daily mons and some of the event legendaries like Darkrai (I actually caught him with a 24% catchrate, thank goodness). However, I am still a fairly new player, and the highest level mon I have is 6, so I'm having some trouble working on them XD. We'll see how far I get in it next week!  
Also, I managed to complete the first trial In Pokemon Sun! the exciting adventure continues!  
(One last thing. I've been noticing a lack of them, and I'd like to ask you guys to PLEASE send reviews. I haven't had a review in a while, and I need to know if I'm taking the story in a direction you guys like. Yes, I do have some plot twists planned, but I want to make sure I'm making this story for the benefit of the readers as well, not just myself. So please do send reviews, even if you don't have a account!)**

Stats of Link: Level: 29.26 Health: 4.5 Defense: 4.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 1 Spells: 3

 _Thirty-one days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

Julian groaned and sat up. Surrounding them was pink and fleshy walls with blood vessels running through them. Behind him was the jaws of Jabu-Jabu, at least allowing him to pinpoint his location and start off his mental map.

He looked for Link and found him sitting up in some unidentifiable liquid that Julian could only hope was saliva.

Link saw what he was standing in, shrieked, and jumped out of it. Navi, who was under Link's cap when jabu-Jabu sucked them in, was completely covered in it. Even though he couldn't see her, Julian could tell what Navi was doing, if the surprisingly loud sound of barfing was any indication.

"Nayru!" Link yelped, trying to dry himself off. "Din! Farore!" he continued rattling off every single curse that Julian had heard in his time at Hyrule, plus a few new ones that probably hadn't survived the fallout of-

He shook his head. _Don't dwell on the past._ He reminded himself. _Don't worry about the future. Focus on now, where everything matters._

He then cocked his head. _Though then again, this is quite a bit more disgusting than that swamp..._

O-0-O

Once Link finally made sure he wasn't going to lose all his stomach contents, he was vastly disappointed to learn that Julian was dragging him deeper into the whale.

"What? Why are we going deeper?!" Link demanded. "Shouldn't we work on getting out?"

Julian sighed. "As much as I'd love to do that, we're here for a reason, remember? Ruto has got to be in Jabu-Jabu somewhere. I just want to find her and get out of here."

"Sorry, Julian, but this time I'm siding with Link." Navi said. "I do _not_ want to be in here any longer than necessary."

"Fine then." Julian said. "The jaws of Jabu-Jabu are over there. If you want to leave, leave now."

No one moved.

"Figures."

They entered another part of Jabu-Jabu, and found a small zora child looking around. She stared at the Triumvirate as they approached, glaring at them.

"You!" She demanded. "Who are you?!"

Julian nodded. "I am Julian, a dragonian. This here is Link, a... kokiri and his faerie companion, Navi." He bowed. "I'm assuming you're Princess Ruto?"

"Yes." Ruto answered sharply. "Why are you here?"

"Your, eh, father asked us to get you. He said you were asking for help." Julian replied.

"What?! I'd never ask anyone to do such a thing!"

"He had a letter from you asking to be rescued." Link said flatly.

"Letter? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Look," Navi said, flying up to Ruto. "Your father is worried about you. Your people are frantically trying to find you and I don't want to be in here longer than we need to be, So let's go. Please."

Ruto swatted at her. "I don't care! And anyways, I can't go home right now. And you three… get out of here! understand?"

Ruto turned around to stormed off, but before anyone could react, a hole opened up exactly where she was standing, causing her to fall in. Link and Julian dove forward to catch her, but ended up crashing into each other, falling down along with her. Navi started cursing, and flew down after them.

"Why are you still hanging around here?!" She demanded once more, fury in her eyes. "I told you to go away! I'm okay.I've been going inside Jabu-Jabu's belly since I was little, but… Lord Jabu-Jabu is very strange today…" She looked around, and Link noticed for the first time several strange, blue jellyfish floating around on the air. "There are electrified jellyfish and strange holes around… On top of that, my… but… that's none of your business! You! Go home, now!"

"I don't have a home." Julian said, sighing. "And anyways, we're not leaving without you."

"You're that worried about me?" Ruto asked, not so sincere. "Then I will give you the honor of carrying me!" Before Julian or Link could open their mouths, she went on. "However, I'm not leaving until I found what I'm looking for. You'd better believe me!"

Julian, looking quite ticked off, said nothing. He picked up Ruto and held her quite uncomfortably. "Let's get going." He said flatly.

O-0-O

The foursome were able to find their way back safely, with no one harmed. However, Link had unfortunately lost his stomach contents when they entered a room completely covered in the disgusting liquid.

The only enemies they found were a Golden Skulltula (which they killed) and the blue jellyfish species known as Biri and Bari.

Julian knew about them, of course. "The Biri and Bari are a kind of aquatic foe that can live in the air as well as sea. Biris are weak, and you can easily kill them. Baris, however, are tougher and will split into two or three Biris upon being defeated. But don't strike them just yet!" he added as Link raised his sword. "They are known to have moments when powerful electricity running through them. About sixty milliamps for the Biri, if I'm correct."

"And how much is that?" Link asked.

"Plenty enough to cause severe muscle spasms, respiratory arrest-and I mean that as in you'll stop breathing-and you might die. Also, it will be painful and that's _if_ we're in a dry environment. The Bari have a electric shock of one hundred and forty milliamps, which will kill you, no matter what environment."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"Can we please move on?" Ruto whined.

Julian looked at her. "Well, excuuuuuuuse me, princess."

O-0-O

They managed to enter the inner parts of Jabu-Jabu's belly, where the path split in three. The middle path was blocked by a pulsing, blue tentacle, which had electricity running through it. There was also some strange, worm-like parasites that floated around, with a claw-like thing as a mouth and a half-dozen glowing orbs for the body.

"Now that is one monster I don't recognize…" Julian said. "Strange, they look like Moldoas…"

"I know of them!" Navi exclaimed. "They're Tailpasarans! They're part electricity, but not enough to kill you. Their tail is their weak point!"

"How do I defeat them, then?" Link asked.

"You can't." Julian said, setting down Ruto for a moment (she was clearly unhappy, but Julian didn't pay attention to her). "Not right now, anyways. Let's just move on."

O-0-O

The foursome (technically trio; Navi did not want to see any more of Jabu-Jabu's innards, so she flew into Link's cap and refused to come out) explored Jabu-Jabu. They found a boomerang, and not even Ruto knew how it got so far deep into the whale. They soon reached a dead end, but found yet another of those tentacles.

Julian cocked his head."Link, I got an idea."

"Do tell me, as I'm getting tired of seeing these tentacles."

"You see those thin parts?" Julian pointed up toward a small, thin part of the tentacle near the ceiling of the "room," balancing Ruto on one hand (which clearly was a strain, if his slightly quivering muscles were any indication). "Throw your boomerang at it."

Link aimed, cocked his hand back, and threw the boomerang. It flew forward, then shot upward. It hit the "ceiling" and fell back to the ground.

"Oh for Nayru's sake-" Ruto jumped off of Link's arms, grabbed the boomerang, Then threw it with expert accuracy. It hit the tentacle straight on, slicing it in half. The part bottom of the thin part collapsed, twitching, while the top part slid back into the ceiling.

The area seemed to get cleaner, less greenish and more reddish.

"Now, hurry up and help me find my item already!" Ruto pouted.

Link just glared at her. "Well, excuuuuuuse me, princess."

O-0-O

They backtracked through Jabu-Jabu, destroying a few more tentacles and otherwise destroying the strange parasitism on the giant whale. Eventually, they managed to reach a room that was circular, with a tall platform in the middle. Even though Link wasn't tall enough to see over the edge, he could see a familiar, albeit blue, glow coming from the top of the platform..

"Th-That's it!" Ruto yelped, flailing and nearly causing Julian to drop her, which would have broke her neck. "Throw me up three, now!"

Julian grumbled something obscene, then did what she said and threw her onto the platform, making sure she landed on her rump.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, ignoring Julian. "I finally found… my mother's stone…" She turned to them. "I got very upset when Lord Jabu-Jabu swallowed it… while I was feeding him, he suddenly swallowed me! I was so surprised, I dropped it inside… but now that I have it, I don't need to be in here anymore! So, take me home, right now!"

Julian sighed, and was about to jump onto the platform to pick Ruto up once more when there came a loud rumble, knocking Link onto his butt (which, considering what the floor was, was not a pleasant experience) and lifting the platform Ruto was on. Before anyone could even react, the platform had risen into a hole that blocked them from reaching Ruto. there came a shriek.

"What is this?! An octopus?!"

The platform lowered once more, showing something that resembled one of the octoroks Link met on Zora's River. It had a big mouth and pale, droopy eyes, and vaguely looked like a kind of octopus.

"Attack it from behind!" Julian shouted, grabbing Link's boomerang and throwing it at the large octopus. "It's a Bigoctorok! The back is where their weak points are!"

The boomerang hit the Bigocto, stunning it and opening a small valve near its rear end, revealing a greenish orb. Link rushed forward, and hoping that whatever left in his stomach would stay there, he stabbed it. The Bigocto squealed, and managed to maneuver itself to face Link.

Julian threw the boomerang once more, and as he was closer to the valve than Link was (the platform had risen enough so that the room's floor was a small circular tunnel-like area), Julian drew back a fist and punched the valve, bursting it and spraying green gunk everywhere. The Bigocto squealed once more, but weaker. It tried to move around to face Julian, but the valve had clearly been part of its life support system, and it died mid-rotation.

It finally went limp, and it's entire bulk collapsed onto the ground.

There was a long moment of silence, then Link finally spoke up.

"Do you think Ruto is in that?" He asked weakly.

Julian stared at him for a moment, then turned around and started retching.


	16. Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly: The Rescue

**A/N yay, I finally get a chapter on schedule! TBh, I don't have much of any new Shuffle news XD but I've been playing X recently (thing is, I've had so many new games to play on the 3DS [and eventually the Switch] that I'm balancing my time with them, and this week is Pokemon X week). Just this morning, I was messing around with X's WonderTrade, and I got a shiny level 100 Exeggutor! talk about lucky! (I just calculated the IVs, and their in the 30-31 IV range!)  
Also, Please, guys, I really need those reviews to properly manage the story. even if you don't have a Fanfiction account, you can send me a review as a guest! It's the one thing a author craves: Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!**

Stats of Link: Level: 30.68 Health: 4.5 Defense: 4.5 Magic: 24: Attack: 1 Spells: 3

Thirty-one days since the Great Deku Tree died...

The platform, weirdly, was some kind of elevator-like organ. After concluding that Ruto was _not_ in the Bigocto, they rode the organ to the top. Ruto was nowhere to be seen, but they found an opened valve that Ruto may have ran off into.  
"Wh-What are those things?!" Link exclaimed upon seeing a strange, rectangular prism-ish tentacle sticking out of the "floor" of the next room. "How many parasites does this guy have?!"

"That depends on where he stuck his body into during his lifetime." Julian replied, looking just as sick.

Paralyzing the weird cubic tentacles with the boomerang (he was just about knowing how to use it), Link hopped onto the stunned tentacles and used them to cross over into the next room, which in turn led them back into room directly next to Jabu-Jabu's mouth.

They noticed a valve they hadn't entered before, and upon crossing through they noticed the signs of parasitism were worse than ever.

This room had at least a dozen Biri, one Golden Skulltula in the far wall, and and the walls and floor itself were a grayish green instead of the reddish blue that colored the other rooms.

They were able to kill off the Biri, Golden Skulltula, and some unnatural netting that forcefully closed one of the valves. Entering that valve, they arrived at a large chamber, with nothing but a huge blob, mixed with the colors of red, blue, and purple, and completely covered in Baris.

Julian's eyes widened, and the pupils dilated so thin Link couldn't even see them. "That's a Bio-Electric Anemone, called Barinade!" He yelped. "I thought they were extinct!"

There was a large crackling sound, and Link yelped as his hair stood on end. He ducked, just as an electric bolt blasted out of barinade and struck the area where his head had been a few seconds before. "Well, they're not now! What am I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know! I never studied these creatures before!" Julian scanned the anemone, looking frantically for a weak point, any specifically protected area, _anything_ that could help them defeat it.

Barinade continued shooting electric bolts at them, and they were barely dodging them. Finally, Julian found something.

"Link!" he yelled from across the room. "Throw your boomerang at those thin parts above Barinade!"

Link aimed carefully, threw the boomerang, and cursed as it missed one tentacle and returned to him. Throwing it again, he managed to strike one of the four tentacles, causing it to snap in half, blood gushing everywhere. The boomerang had lost its momentum being smacked into the tentacle, but Julian quickly grabbed it and threw it toward Link, snapping another tentacle.

"Whoa!" Link screamed as the electric bolts got more violent. Clearly, it was working. Link aimed once more, keeping an watchful eye for any thunderbolt, and threw the boomerang once more. The third tentacle snapped, covering the floor with either Jabu-Jabu's or Barinade's blood (it was hard to tell).

Julian quickly repeated what they did earlier, grabbing the boomerang and throwing it back. As the last tentacle snapped, Barinade collapsed to the ground… only to rise up again as it sent its Bari partners all over the room, electricity connecting them.

"I'll handle the Barinade! You get the Bari!" Julian shouted, grabbing Link's boomerang and throwing it at Barinade. The contact stunned the anemone, interrupting the electric flow and causing the bari to be helpless against the Kokiri sword.

With all the Bari and tentacles gone, Barinade's only defense was the organs sending the electric blasts. Julian quickly took care of that, tearing the organs out of their place and tossing them onto the ground. He then punched Barinade hard, causing the anemone to explode, covering everything that wasn't already covered in blood with green stuff.

Even though Link and Julian had started retching as hard as they could (Navi joined in once she left Link's cap to see what all the commotion was and saw the mess), Julian could not stop the next thought that entered his head.

 _Three hundred fifty two..._

O-0-O

Once the triumvirate had finally managed to stop throwing away everything they ate in the past two days, they heard a all-too-familiar voice.

"Finally!" Ruto exclaimed, getting up from the mess that was once Barinade. "Did you know how disgusting it was in there? It'll take _hours_ to wash this all off!

Link, Julian, and Navi all looked at each other, then spoke as one to Ruto. "Well, excuuuuse me, princess."

O-0-O

Thanks to Julian's mental map, the foursome were able to exit Jabu-Jabu, who seemed to look better on the outside. The Sun was beginning to set.

"Crap, I forgot something." Julian said. "I'll be back in a minute. Have fun." He turned around and re-entered Jabu-Jabu.

Navi went off to wash herself off in private somewhere in the fountain, leaving Link alone with Ruto.

Ruto turned on him. "You! You looked cool… cooler than I thought you'd be… just a little!" she giggled at Link's confused expression. "Well, anyway, you saved me, so I guess I'll have to reward you." She continued. "What do you wish? Just tell me…"

Sensing his opportunity, Link said, "Well, I was kind of wondering about the Spiritual Stone of the River…"

Ruto's eyes lit up in delight. "You mean the Zora's Sapphire? My mother gave it to me and said I should give it only to the man who will be my husband. You might call it the Zora's Engagement Ring!"

She smiled at him. "All right! I'll give you my most precious possession: the Zora's Sapphire!" She handed Link the stone she had lost inside Jabu-Jabu, which had the crest of the goddess Nayru, three circles of sapphire supported by a connected series of semicircles, forming a triangular-ish formation.

 _Link, Julian, and Navi got the Zora's Sapphire! This is the engagement ring of the Zora's royal family, passed down through the generations! Unfortunately, this means Link now has marital obligations to Princess Ruto…_

 _The Triumvirate finally has all three Spiritual Stones! They may be the first people in hundreds of thousands of years to collect all three!_

"Don't tell my father!" Ruto said cheerfully as she walked back into Zora's Domain.

"Hey, Link!" Julian called over. "I found this Heart Container for you!"

Link frowned. "That's Barinade's isn't it?"

Julian sighed. "You got me. But no worries, I cleaned it out, plus I found two more Golden Skulltulas. Oh… you have the third Spiritual Stone! Wonderful!" Then he cocked his head. "Where's Navi? And how did you persuade Ruto to give the stone to you?"

"Right here!" Navi called, flying back to them, as clean and pristine as she was before they entered Jabu-Jabu.

Just before they left the Zora's Fountain, presumably for good, Link asked one more question.

"Um… you know how you asked me how I persuaded Ruto to give me the last stone?"

"Yeah…" Julian replied slowly. "How did you?"

"Um… what's an engagement ring?"

Julian stopped and turned on his heels, then slipped as the water's slipperiness took hold and he crashed onto the ground. Navi had also stopped beating her wings in shock and fell into the water as well.

"You _what?!"_ Julian asked weakly. He and Navi looked at each other.

"Who's going to tell him?" Navi asked, just as weakly.


	17. The Beginning of the Seven Year's War

**A/N: Well... we finally did it. We finally went through An entire "part" of the story. Arc Emerald, Arc Ruby, and Arc Sapphire are finally complete. Thing is, every three arcs is one "part," or a portion of the story that is unique to the other two parts. What do I mean, you ask? Well, find out in Part 2!  
(P.S. No, this doesn't mean I'm stopping the story here. I'm still going to update it on a weekly basis. to put it simply, a "part" is just a extended arc, to be honest. Still, enjoy!)**

Stats of Link: Level: 31.81 Health: 5 Defense: 5 Magic: 24 Attack: 1 Spells: 3

 _Thirty-three days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

"Well, you got quite the resume." Julian said as the Triumvirate exited Zora's River. "You're exiled by the people you've known all your life, friends with a faerie and a freak of nature, hero of a volcanic tribe, defiler of the graves of the last several dozen generations of the Royal Family, you put Golden Skulltulas on the Endangered Species List, and around five girls want to marry you."

Some parts stung Link, but he could not miss the humor. He chuckled. "I had a bit of help from you."  
"Wait…" Navi said. " _Five_ girls? I can only think of Zelda, Malon, Ruto, and Saria…"

Link blushed harder each time Navi listed another person. Julian laughed. "Guess the fifth." He said.

Navi was silent for a bit, then her aura turned into a deep blush-red. "Y-You-"

However, she didn't get to pursue that any farther when suddenly night arrived.

"What the-" Julian exclaimed, surprised. "It was noon! What's going on?" He blinked. "The Castle! We have to get to Hyrule Castle!"

 _Not again, not again, not again!_ Julian wailed silently to himself as he and Link ran as hard as they could toward the castle, Navi not far behind.

They ran nonstop, and within a few hours (when Link grew tired Julian scooped him up and ran harder) they had finally reached the castle.

O-0-O

Julian finally stopped, let Link down, and panted.

It was dark. Link could barely see the stormy clouds in the sky, and the drawbridge to the castle was closed. He shuddered as he remembered the nightmare he had, shortly before Julian and Navi had arrived at his house.

"Link, the drawbridge is opening!" Julian shouted.

They watched in astonishment as the drawbridge slowly lowered, and a white horse bolted from the castle gates. He saw that the people riding the horse were Zelda and Impa.

"Link!" Zelda cried. "Hurry! Take the Ocarina!" She threw something toward Link, which landed in the moat.

The white horse, bearing Zelda and Impa, disappeared over the horizon.

"The-what?!" Link asked, having not heard Zelda correctly.

"Arrrgh!" growled a deep voice behind them. "I lost her!"

They spun around in shock to find none other than Ganondorf, on top of a black steed. Ganondorf noticed the two of them, and Link was thankful it was nighttime. In the dark, Julian was not clearly seen, thus anyone could mistake him as a human.

"You two!" He demanded. "You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now… which way did they go?"

Link gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"Answer me!" Ganondorf roared.

Julian spoke up. "No." he said. "I will not reveal their location, even to you!" Link nodded in agreement.

"So, you think you can protect them from me…" Ganondorf mused. "You two got guts."

Link pulled out his sword and shield, and saw Julian shift his feet. Ganondorf noticed these actions as well.

He laughed. "You want a piece of me?! Very funny! I like your attitude!"

Julian lunged, but Ganondorf merely swung his arm, hitting Julian hard across the head. He flew clear across the moat, crashing against the side of the castle. The impact left a crater, holding the dragonian against it for several seconds. When Julian finally landed in the water, he did not resurface.

"Pathetic fools!" Ganondorf roared. "Do you not realize who you are dealing with?!"

Navi, who was in Link's cap, gave a tiny gasp. "His aura is fading rapidly." she whispered. Link stood, shell-shocked. Julian was defeated that easily?! Very likely killed in one hit?!

Ganondorf glared at Link. "I am Ganondorf, and soon, I will rule the world!" He held his hand upward, and purple waves enveloped it, creating a small, yellow ball. Just as he threw the ball toward Link, the young boy remembered a horrid nightmare he had, just before he met Julian and Navi.

 _It was dark and stormy. Link was alone, standing before the drawbridge of a castle. The drawbridge opened slowly, and, without warning, a white horse bolted from the castle gates. Link could not see the figures riding the horse, but he knew that they were looking at him, and they were trying to say something. Soon, they disappeared from sight._

 _Link turned around to find a faceless man on top of a black horse, seemingly staring at him. The man gave a hearty laugh, and raised up his hands. There was a flash of light, and then-_

O-0-O

"Navi! Navi, he's coming around!" Shouted a voice, making Link's head hurt all the more. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at Julian. _What happened?_

It came back rushing. Zelda fleeing her own kingdom, Ganondorf beating Link and Julian without even straining a muscle, sudden whiteness… darkness...

"There, there…" Navi said softly, flying up to him and casting a quick healing spell, curing most, but not all, of Link's headache.

"Wha… what happened?" Link asked, his voice croaking out.

"Your were in a coma." Julian said. "You were out for a long while. There were times that we thought you had…" Link didn't need to be a scholar to know what the last word was.

 _Died._

"How long was I in a coma?" He asked, sitting up.

"Link, I think you-"

"How long was I in a coma?!" Link screeched.

Julian's face dropped. "Three weeks." he murmured. "You were in a coma for twenty-one days."

Link grabbed at his pouch, then rummaged through it as quickly as he could manage. "Where's my ocarina?!" He shouted.

A lady came over, and put a gentle hand on his arm. Link was surprised to recognize her as the lady with the cucco allergies. They were at Kakariko Village. "Don't be hard on him." She whispered, sounding awed yet frightened at the sight of the two of them. Link almost laughed, imagining what was going through her head- a ten year old boy with sword skills better than most Hylian knights, and some kind of freak of nature, half-human, half dragon.

"You both suffered serious injuries." she continued. "I'm surprised neither of you were killed. As for your ocarina…" she trailed of, looking at a nearby table.

Link didn't need her to finish the sentence. He could see plenty of evidence on the table.

Apparently, the energy ball Ganondorf lobbed at him had partially melted his ocarina, and when he collapsed, the ground shattered the rest.

Whatever he did now, Link knew that he broke Saria's promise, and thus would never be able to play on that Ocarina with her ever again.

Link snapped. He curled up on the ground, sobbing as the fright, stress, and events of the entire two months since the Great Deku Tree died overtook him, perfectly ensuring that he would never ever have a proper childhood again.

Link the young Kokiri, the kokiri who loved tag and tree syrup and all the other stuff the other kokiri loved, was dead.

Link the Warrior, the warrior who was only ten years old and already knew plenty about how messed up the world was, had risen from the young Kokiri's ashes. He wept, bawled, prayed to the goddesses for a return to much simpler times, cursed them for imposing this destiny, nay, this _curse_ onto him.

Link knew that Julian was only trying to help him survive. He knew the Great Deku Tree did not want Link to depart the forest on this journey. He knew Saria would welcome him home with open arms, regardless of how the other Kokiri would treat him. He knew there was nothing Navi could have done to keep him from leaving in the first place, but now, he hated them all. They destroyed his child's heart and replaced it with one of a adult.

He wept, howled, cried for the loss of one identity of a child who had loved all creatures, and the replaced identity of a child who killed to survive.

O-0-O

Julian decided the best thing to do was to leave Link alone. So, that very night, he snuck off, leaving a piece of parchment behind.

 _Forgive me, Link and Navi. I have decided to leave for the time being, letting Link recover. You probably won't believe me, Link, but I understand what you're going through perfectly, and it's not like a bruise, or something that can be fixed overnight._

 _So stay here. I do not want you to try anything on your own. Ganondorf is powerful. While you recover, I am going around Hyrule looking for anything we can use against him. I will be back, so please stay here so I know where you are._

 _Do not even leave the house. Ganondorf may be searching for us, and he has spies everywhere. When Ganondorf struck me, he was powerful enough to break the technology on me, so now I cannot disguise myself as a simple human anymore. Until we can whittle down Ganondorf's minions, I am a prime target for elimination._

 _And so,yeah. That's why I'm taking a journey throughout Hyrule. Don't try to look for me, as I will have danger on my heels. For you two, I give you my cloak. It has magical properties, and will perfectly hide you should any of Ganondorf's minions arrive at this house._

He knew they would be angry. He knew that Link might even try to follow him, so he planted a spell that made Link feel lightheaded every time he stepped out of the building. He knew he would have to make it up, so he decided to look for golden skulltulas and heart pieces for Link.

And so, yet another three weeks passed by. Link rested (he _had_ tried to follow Julian after all, but fainted only ten steps out the door), and Julian ran throughout Hyrule, avoiding any trouble and obtaining heart pieces as well as the golden tokens. Link was raised in the care of the cucco woman, who treated him like a son. He learned a lot about cucco ranching from the woman, whose name was Maria.

By the time he came back, Julian had found enough golden skulltulas to make their grand total forty-one. Unfortunately, he could only find one heart piece for Link, but was able to also find a forty-quantity bomb bag from one of the Gorons and the Giant's Wallet as well as a set of Bombchus for Link to use.

O-0-O

 _Seventy-five days since the Great Deku Tree died..._

"Why did you just leave like that?!" Link shouted as Julian walked into the building, looking surprisingly meek.

"You needed to rest." He replied.

Link put his hand on his face. "You could've at least told us, instead of taking off in the middle of the night!"

"You're welcome, then." Julian sighed, dropping all he collected during his travels. Link's jaw dropped open as he saw the additional Heart Piece, all the Golden Skulltula Tokens, the Bombchus, and the extra-large Bomb Bag.

"All that?" He asked.

"Hey, I've had monsters gunning for my tail since I left Kakariko. You could at least say Thank you." Julian said irritably.

"Gunning?"

"Never mind. I forgot that you live in a medieval world, where you can barely process the knowledge of what a door is."

Link punched Julian in the shoulder, and they both began to laugh.

After swapping stories for a few hours, Link remembered something.

His eyes widened. "Julian! I forgot to tell you something!"

O-0-O

They stood at the gates to Hyrule's Town Market. Link was explaining the object he saw Zelda throw into the moat.

"But it's been nearly six weeks." Julian said, confused. "It would have washed away by now."

Navi, realizing what was about to happen, flew out of Link's cap just as he jumped into the moat.

"He's going to be fine, right?" Navi asked, sitting on Julian's shoulder.

He shrugged. "It's late summer, so he shouldn't get hypothermia. I'm only concerned about viruses, though…"

Link was swimming through the moat, and found what he was looking for: a small, light blue object almost exactly the same as Julian's ocarina.

He grasped it, and returned to the surface. "Look here!" He cried out to the others. Julian's eyes widened as he saw the Ocarina of Time.

Before anyone could reply, Link's vision was filled with light, and he was, in his mind, perhaps, transported to another place.

O-0-O

"Link...can you hear me? It's me, Zelda…" Came a voice Link recognized. "Link... When you have acquired this ocarina... I will already have disappeared…"

A vision of Zelda appeared and Link saw colorful windows and high walls. He guessed this was a temple of some sort. "Zelda?!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Where am I?"

Zelda continued as if she never heard him. "I wanted to wait for you, but you're not going to make it in time... The most I can do is put this melody in the ocarina and send it to you…"

She put the Ocarina of Time (which was in her hands) to her lips and blew a strange, mystical song. She repeated it twice more, then put the Ocarina in Link's hands. Understanding, he repeated the song.

The ocarina felt different in Link's hands. The notes were deeper, almost vibrating in his hands as he blew into it. He finished the Song of Time, and Zelda grew a hopeful smile on her face.

"Now, Link. Play this melody in front of the altar in the Temple of Time. You must protect the Triforce!" She said, and Link's vision went white once more.

O-0-O

The Triumvirate stood in front of a large stone cathedral. Julian noted that it looked slightly Gothic in design, but paid no more thought to it. He also noted Link looking behind them, a worried look on his face. Julian agreed as well; having crossed into Hyrule Town Market now, which was completely deserted, they were in Ganondorf's territory now. A monster, or Ganondorf himself, could come out of any alley they passed. The paranoia fuel was abundant.

"So, you're saying Zelda sent you here?" He asked, trying to make casual conversation. Link told Julian and Navi his vision once he clambered out of the water, holding the Ocarina of Time in his hands. Knowing what the Royal Family was capable of, Julian knew that it was more likely that Zelda _had_ sent a telepathic message rather than that Link's head injury had caused worse damage than they thought.

"I'm sure this is the place." Link said, peering into the building. "Yeah, I'm sure it is. There's no one in here, but it looks exactly the way it looked in my vision."

They crossed the large room, while some kind of music, resembling the song of Time, reverberated throughout the cathedral.

"This must be the Temple of Time." Julian whispered, awed. Even Link and Navi stopped for a few moments, reveling in the majesty the temple imposed.

Once they got over that moment, they continued crossing the main room, stopping at a large altar, which had three indents and a message.

It read: _Ye who own three Sacred Stones, stand with the Ocarina of Time and play the Song of Time._

"You remember how the song goes, correct?" Julian asked Link.

"Julian, the fate of the world hinges on me remembering that song, which I learned not three hours ago. Of course I remember it."

He sighed as Link put the Ocarina of Time to his lips. As he played, Julian put the Kokiri's Emerald, the Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Sapphire on the three indents. He pulled out his own Ocarina, looked at it, then at the Ocarina of Time, then sighed and put it away. _So much power… and he doesn't even know what he can do with it._

Link finished playing. At first, nothing happened, but before anyone could question whether they did it wrong, they heard a deep rumble.

There was a flash, and the Triumvirate turned to see the insignia of the Triforce hovering over the wall directly behind the altar.

Then, the wall slowly but surely split and slid open.

Behind what Julian realized was the Door of Time was a dark, secret room.

They walked around the altar and entered the new room, the temple's song seemingly getting louder, more resembling the Song of Time.

A single shaft of light came from the only window, illuminating the pedestal in the middle of the room, as well as the sword on it.

"Link, isn't that…" Navi began, but stopped in awe.

"The legendary Sword of Evil's Bane… the Master Sword!" Julian finished.

Link climbed up a small series of stairs, reaching the pedestal. A vivid, wild idea was creeping into his mind.

"If this is the Legendary Sword that's capable of vanquishing evil, then we need it now." Link said.

"But how do you know you can take it?" Julian said. "Only the chosen one can take it, and I-"

Julian clamped his mouth shut hard, and tasted the blood that seeped out. _Idiot!_ He scolded to himself. _They cannot find out that-_

Link ignored him, and stepped on the Master Sword's Pedestal. He grasped the sword, and tugged with all his might. The Master Sword slid free of the pedestal, and, without warning, the Triumvirate were enveloped by a bluish-white light that covered the platform they were on. Slightly distorted, they heard a deep and hearty laugh.

"Heh heh heh…" Came Ganondorf's voice. "Thanks for the work, kid! Just as I thought... You held the keys to the 'Door of Time'..."

What?!" Julian and Link said at the same time, shocked.

"You have led me to the gates of the Sacred Realm... Yes, I owe it all to you two!"

"No, no no no no no…" Julian whispered frantically, as the light became all-encompassing and they saw no more.

 ** _END OF PART ONE: OCARINA OF TIME_**


	18. Arc 4: Link's Awakening

**A/N 1,000 Views! Amazing! And just in time for the epic second part of the story! You see, my skills were rather rusty when creating the first Part (Ocarina of Time, Arcs 1-3), and now the second part (Hero of Time, Arcs 4-6) is where I shed that Rust and emerge as the writer I am! Now on, Arcs are going to have more original names, and I hope that you folks love the Sheik scenes I wrote just as much as I have writing them! Also, this arc is known as "The Forest's Minuet."**  
 **(Fun Fact: Sheik is also a title for a Muslim leader, believe it or not. combined with the original Gerudo sign accidentally similar to the Muslim flag, and the Fire Temple's original music in Version 1.0 having chanting that sounds Islamic, well... kinda makes you wonder if it was really just a series of unfortunate coincidences or one of the dev team thought it would be funny to include all that stuff)**

Stats of Link: Level: 38.07 Health: 5.25 Defense: 5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

"Link…" came a voice, and Link woke up with a groan. Why did he feel so tired, yet so refreshed at the same time? "Wake up… Link, the chosen one… Link, wake up, dammit. Is he really this lazy?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Link opened his eyes. He found himself standing on an insignia of the Triforce. He stumbled, trying to get his bearings.

Link was in a place even the Great Deku Tree had never described. The world was a dark blue, with water cascading from everywhere, from the towers, the horizon, the pedestal he was on, and beams of light shot from the watery sky above. Some magic was manipulating water to be just a floating sphere of, lazily drifting about. Next to Link was Julian, who was sitting cross-legged on the lower right part of the Triforce. Navi was sitting on the dragonian's leg.

Surrounding the Triforce Insignia were six other insignias, each of them a different color. One green, one red, one blue, one purple, one orange, and one yellow.

On the yellow one was a man Link had never seen before. He was large, and wore a long sage robe that obscured every part of his body except his head, which was bald except for thick white hair as a mustache that went around the back of his head. His eyes were a deeper blue than those of anyone Link has ever met, and seemed to contain untold centuries of wisdom.

"I am Rauru," He said, his voice deep and smooth. "One of the Ancient Sages… ages ago, we built the Temple of Time to protect the entrance to the Sacred realm… This is the Chamber of the Sages, located deep within the Temple of Light."

"The Temple of Light?" Link asked. _Why does everything feel so proportionally wrong?_

Rauru nodded. "The Temple of Light, located in the very center of the Sacred realm, is the last stronghold against Ganondorf's evil forces."

"The… last?" Link asked. _Even my voice is sounding wrong…_ he realized.

Rauru noded. "Yes." He said. "The Master Sword-the evil-destroying sword you pulled out of the Pedestal of Time-was the final key to the Sacred Realm." His face softened. "Link… don't be alarmed… look at yourself!"

Link looked in the water's reflection, realizing how far his face was from the floor. He was shocked at what he saw.

Link was no longer the ten year old child of the day before. He was now much taller… older! He still wore clothes similar to that of his old ones, The Hylian Shield, once too heavy for him, was now slung on his back, the weight feeling similar to that of the Deku Shield. He had some brown gloves covering his hands, and a white undergarment covered the parts under his normal green tunic He also wore blue earrings, though he couldn't figure why. He fingered them, noting the odd feeling of wearing accessories.

"Yeah, I was wondering about those too." Julian said, smirking. "I guess Rauru wanted to have a little fun."

"I was not!" Rauru said, his face aghast.

Julian snorted. "Whatever you say."

"How long was I out?" Link asked, horror growing within him.

Julian's smirk disappeared. "I have no idea." He admitted. "I came to just a few hours before you did. Rauru refused to tell me anything until you woke up.

Rauru nodded. "The Master Sword is a sacred blade which evil ones may never touch. Only one worthy of the title 'Hero of Time' can pull it from the Pedestal of Time… however, you were too young to be the Hero of Time."

"How long has it been?" Link asked, panic rising in his throat. "How many years?"

"Your spirit was sealed here for seven years." Rauru said. "Now that you are old enough, the time has come for you to awaken as the Hero of Time! But remember… though you opened the Door of Time in the name of peace… Ganondorf used it to enter this forbidden land! He obtained the Triforce from the Temple of Light, and with it, he became the King of Evil."

"Ganon…" Julian murmured, but said nothing else when he realized that Link heard him.

"His evil power radiated from the temples of Hyrule," Rauru continued. "In seven short years, he had transformed Hyrule into a world of monsters. My power now has little influence, even in the Sacred Realm… namely, the Chamber of the Sages."

"So that's it?" Link asked. "We lost? It's hopeless?"

"It's not hopeless!" Julian snapped. "Just because…" He looked at the ground. "Nevermind. Those days… they're long gone, anyways."

"What do you mean?" Link asked, but Julian clearly would not speak anymore, indicating that the conversation was over.

"What he means is that there is still hope, even if it's a tiny amount." Rauru said. "The power of the Sages remains. If all the Sages are awakened, the Sage's Seal can contain all the evil power into the void of the Sacred Realm. I, Rauru, am one of the sages… and your power to fight with the sages makes you the Hero of Time, chosen by the Master Sword! Keep my spirit with you, and find the power of the other sages and add their might to your own!"

Rauru raised his arms, and there was a yellow flash as a golden medallion appeared in Link's hands.

 _The Triumvirate received the Light Medallion! Rauru's courage seeps into them, making them stronger!_

Light surrounded them, and Rauru spoke one last message. "Find the other sages, and save Hyrule!"

O-0-O

 _Ten minutes since the Hero of Time awakened..._

The light faded around them, and the Triumvirate saw themselves back in the temple of Time.

"Link…" Navi said. "We're back in the Temple of Time, but have seven years really passed?"

"Judging from the way Link is an adult, I'm assuming so." Julian said. "Unless it was actually three days, and somehow Link hit a major growth spurt that nearly doubled his size."

Navi snorted. "Well, anyways, it looks like you can't use most of your old weapons anymore…"

Link checked his bag, and saw that she was right. His Deku shield, slingshot, and boomerang had long since rotted away, becoming a mushy pile of nutrients for the soil. The Hylian shield made a good replacement for the Deku shield, but the slingshot and boomerang was a loss.

"Well, let's get out of here." Julian said. "We got to find a lead on the temples…"

He stopped, then tensed. Link, his adventure having honed his senses, felt it too; someone was watching them.

They turned back to the Pedestal of Time to see a young male with blood-red eyes and blond hair. He wore a tight purple and white outfit, along with the crest of the Sheikah, an eye with three triangles above it, and a teardrop below.

"Z-" Julian started to say, but he shook his head. "Who are you?"

"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time." the young male said. He looked at the Pedestal of Time. "When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be sages, who dwell in the five temples. One in a deep forest… one on a high mountain… one under a vast lake… one within the House of the Dead… and one inside a Goddess of the Sand. Together, with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world… This is the legend of the temples passed down by my people, the Sheikah."

He nodded to Julian. "My name is Sheik, one of the last survivors of the Sheikah." He turned to Link. "As I see you there, holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time… if you believe in the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five sages… one sage is waiting for the Time of Awakening in the Forest Temple. The sage is a girl I'm sure you know very well."

Link's eyes widened. "Saria?!"

Sheik nodded. "However, because of the evil power in the temple, she cannot hear the call of awakening from the Sacred Realm… unfortunately, equipped as you are right now, you cannot even enter the temple. If you believe what I am saying, you should head to Kakariko Village… Do you understand, Link?"

Link paused, then nodded. He turned to go, but stopped and turned back around. "What will I find there?" He asked.

But Sheik had already disappeared.


	19. Seven Years Later

Stats of Link: Level: 38.35 Health: 5.25 Defense: 5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _One hour after the Hero of Time awakened..._

The Triumvirate walked out of the Temple of Time to step into a world best described as an apocalypse. Buildings were burned to the ground, and surviving ones were ransacked, seriously damaged, and some had the corpses of many people, most likely through murder, collateral damage, or suicide.

Even Death Mountain, which could be seen in the distance, was sinister, with blood-red clouds surrounding its peak. "Holy Farore!" Link exclaimed. "What happened here?!"

"Ganondorf." Julian answered. "This is worse than I thought… I'm no Nephologist, but Death Mountain does not look normal..."

"Oh, you don't say." Navi said dryly. "I remember Kaepora Gaebora saying something about the clouds of Death Mountain referring to it's condition…"

As they worked their way through the devastation, the acrid smells grew worse and worse. Soon, they reached the main hub of the market. The place smelled of rotting corpses and was populated by redeads, each of whom looked as if they had once laid their jaws on human flesh.

By sticking to the edge and walking slowly, Link and Julian were able to leave Hyrule Castle Town Market, now a devastated wasteland full of Redeads and corpses.

O-0-O

Hyrule Field was a bit better, but not by much. The acrid smell remained, and most, if not all, of the plants and animals were dead. The sky remained a cloudy grey, the sun barely visible behind the thick clouds.

Link took in how empty the place was. "I thought Rauru said Hyrule was transformed into a world full of monsters…" He said.

"Ganondorf _cursed_ Hyrule into a world of monsters." Julian said. "There may be roving gangs of monsters scouring through the Field, looking for unwary travellers. Be on your guard, Link. Kakariko Village is only half a day away, so we should be fine…"

O-0-O

By dusk, they had arrived at Kakariko were ecstatic when they saw that the population of Kakariko had grown, meaning some people from Hyrule Castle Town had managed to flee before it was turned into a wasteland.

That didn't mean Kakariko was flourishing. Many were homeless, poor, and there was clear wailing from those who recently had a loved one who died or was presumed missing. While Julian didn't fully understand humans, he knew that they could be selfish and ambitious, so the ones presumed missing may have fled to join the stronger side...

… And knowing the nature of Ganondorf's monsters, those presumed missing would not be missing for long or alive.

A memory resurfaced. _Thunder… rain… a soldier clad in green armor… Julian twisting, stabbing with his tail… wet… rain… red… blood… everywhere… anguished screams… wails of horror… laughter..._

"Where to now?" Link asked, pulling Julian out of his dreadful reminiscence.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "We should check around the graveyard." He said. "Remember how we found a useful song there? We should check and see if there's anything new. Anything can happen in seven years."

They skirted around the townsfolk, but Julian did give a few dozen rupees to each homeless person they passed. He didn't want Kakariko to become _a_ town of thieves again...

They soon arrived at the graveyard. Not much was different, beyond a new tombstone and a plant that Link didn't recognize.

"What is that thing?" He asked.

"That would be the Magic Bean you planted seven years ago!" Navi chirped. "You can use the grown plants to transport you to places it'd otherwise be trouble for you to get to, or a place you couldn't get to before! If this one grew, then the other ones must have as well!"

Link hopped on it, and it floated up to a small ledge with a Heart Piece on it. He grabbed the piece just as the Magic Bean Plant started to descend.

They then took a look at the new gravestone. _Here lies Dampé, the Sixty-ninth and last gravekeeper of the Danpei family. May he be remembered throughout the seasons._

"Man, Dampé died?" Julian said. "That's kind of sad… but when you think about it, he was pretty frail last time we saw him…"

He squinted at the bottom of the grave. "Hey, there's a hole under this!" He grabbed the tombstone and gave it a shove. It moved easily, revealing what Julian saw: a small, one square foot hole leading far underground.

Link glared at him. "Don't you ever complain about me defiling a grave again. You just did that yourself, hypocrite."

Julian gave a wry grin. "True, but you exploded the grave of the Royal Family. I just moved a Gravekeeper's gravestone."

Link was silent for a moment. "Farore. You win this round."

O-0-O

Climbing down, they found themselves inside a large tunnel. To their surprise, Dampé was waiting for them.

"Hello, Young Man!" Dampé said to them. "Are you quick on your feet? I may not look like it, but I'm confident in my speed! If you can keep up with me, I will give you a good reward!"

He turned and floated off through the tunnel.

"Should we follow him?" Link asked.

Julian grinned. "We have no other leads, and Dampé is a nice guy. I'm sure he wouldn't trick us to our death."

They ran through the catacomb, taking sharp turns left and right as Dampé led them through it. When they reached a crossroad, Link looked through the other tunnels and shuddered upon seeing Redeads. After a few minutes, they soon found themselves inside a small chamber, where a treasure chest rested.

Dampé laughed. "You were very quick to keep up with me! As a reward, I'm going to give you my treasure. It's called the Hookshot!"

"A Hookshot?" Link asked.

Julian explained. "A hookshot is a spring-loaded chain that can pull you or an object towards the other. Basically, you just point it at something and press the trigger. If you hit nothing, it'll automatically retract and come back to you. If it connects, it sticks and won't come off until the body and hook are connected once more."

Link blinked. "I don't know what you mean, but I'm guessing I just point this at my target and pull the trigger, right?"

Julian sighed. "Yes."

"Be careful on your way back!" Dampé laughed, disappearing. As his spirit vanished, he left behind a Heart Piece which gleamed.

Link picked the Heart Piece up and opened the treasure chest, finding the Hookshot.

The Hookshot was a blue device with a sharp metal piece on one end and a smooth metal handle on the other.

When they turned around to head back the way they came, however, they found that the exit was blocked off.

Julian sighed. "Well, I guess we have no choice but to press on."

They went through another tunnel, following it for a few minutes before starting to hear some music.

The music in question sounded rushed, yet intriguing all the same. Wary of a trap, Link and Julian decided to follow the strange music, assuming it would lead to the exit.

Eventually, they reached a dead end, with one side having two blue blocks on top of each other. Navi flew out of Link's cap and examined them. "Hey." She said, flying to the middle of one of the block's faces. "Isn't that the design that was on the Door of Time?"

Sure enough, it was. The same design that took over what they thought of as the north wall of the Temple of Time was on these blocks as well. Figuring out what to do, Link pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played the Song of Time. Blue light enveloped the blocks, and soon they had disappeared completely, revealing a new tunnel.

"Wow…" Link breathed, surprised at what happened. They continued on, hearing the music get louder and louder.

They soon found themselves inside the windmill of Kakariko village. There was a man holding a phonograph, and he was clearly angry when he saw them. Or rather, at Link specifically.

"I'll never forget what you did seven years ago!" He shouted at Link.

"Whoa, calm down." Julian said. "I'm pretty sure we never met you before. You must be thinking of someone else."

"No!" The man said with such force that Julian stepped back. "I know it's this kid! Seven years ago, he walked in here without saying a word and played this song!" He chugged out six notes on his phonograph, and Link, realizing that there was some importance in this song, committed the notes to memory, and played it back. There was a sudden clap of thunder, and even though they were indoors, it started to rain.

"Oh no!" The man shouted. "You caused a storm again! You had to play the Song of Storms again, didn't you? GET OUT!"

He shoved the duo out without another word.

O-0-O

"Well, that was productive." Julian said as they left Kakariko, holding another Heart Piece he nabbed from somewhere in the Windmill.

"Do you think this is what Sheik meant?" Link asked, referring to the Hookshot that was now attached to his belt, along with his Bomb Bag and the Ocarina of Time.

Navi brought them all back to the point. "I wonder what's going on in the forest… I'm worried about Saria, too!"

Link swore loud enough to cause Julian to stumble where he stood. Saria! In the haste to get the Hookshot, he completely forgotten to contact her!

He pulled the Ocarina and played Saria's Song. "Link?" Came Saria's voice.

"Saria!" Link said. "How have you been? I'm so sorry I've been gone these seven years…"

"Nevermind that." Saria said with a laugh. "You're safe! I knew I'd hear from you again!" her voice lost its cheeriness. "I'm in the Forest Temple. The Forest spirits were calling for help, so I went to help them out… but it's full of monsters! Help me, Link!"

As her voice vanished, Link took off running towards the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

O-0-O

By noon, the Triumvirate reached the borders of the Forbidden Forest. A few hours after that, they reached Kokiri Forest. However, all was not well-monsters had ravaged the place, with some buildings pelted with Deku Nuts and some of the Kokiri's playgrounds decimated. Fortunately, judging from the blockaded doorways, the Kokiri had saved themselves a grisly fate.

Link quickly took care of the Deku Babas, and Julian chased off the Deku Scrubs.

"It's clear now." Julian said. "Trust me, Kokiri Forest is safe for now, but it won't be that way without their guardian spirit."

"So…" Link murmured, reaching the same conclusion Julian did. "When the Great Deku Tree died, his magic barrier was destroyed, hence allowing monsters from the Lost Woods to attack?"

Julian nodded. "And I guess the answer to saving this community lies deep within enemy territory. Let's go."

O-0-O

The Lost Woods seemed to accept Saria's Song as it's main music. It was playing all over, yet a slightly stronger part of the song still pointed towards the Sacred Forest Meadow. Link and Julian followed the notes, whilst Navi rested in Link's cap.

Eventually, they were just about to reach the entrance to the Sacred Forest Meadow, when they were stopped by none other than Mido.

"Hey!" The young boy snapped at them. "Who are you?" He scanned Link's clothing. "Your clothes are that of a Kokiri's, but you can't fool me! I'd know if there was a tall kokiri like you living in our home!"

"We need to go through." Link said flatly.

"No! I promised Saria that no one will go to the Sacred Forest Meadow, except for her friends!"

"And what if I did know her?" Link replied.

Mido stood defiantly. "Prove it."

Link grinned coyly, and pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played Saria's Song. Mido's determined frown faded away as he recognized the uppity tune.

"That melody?" he finally said. "Saria plays that all the time! You… do you know Saria?"

Link nodded. "Yes." he said. "I'm good friends with her."

"That song…" Mido mused. "Saria only taught that song to her friends…" He nodded. "Okay. I trust you, as well as your... Dragon… humanoid... friend." He frowned. "I don't know why, Mister, but when I look at you, you remind me of… him…"

O-0-O

"From here on, we're going to be going through some narrow passageways!" Navi instructed Link as they entered the meadow's maze. "If you take it slow, maybe you can sneak up on some enemies. Look before turning a corner!"

"And why are you instructing me on this now?" Link asked.

It was Julian who answered. "I sense some enemies… enemies I thought I would never feel again…"

"Feel?"

Julian blinked. "Oh yeah. I can read aura, but not very well. Only well enough to identify creatures."

He folded his wings and went into the first passageway, then jumped back as a huge, pig-like demon nearly speared him.

Julian yelped. "I knew it! Moblins! Ganondorf must have summoned these from the underworld! But…"

"But what?" Link and Navi asked at the same time.

Julian shook his head. "Nothing. We got to keep moving. I'll distract them, while you run through like the hounds of hell are after you. And trust me, if my ploy fails, my simile will be a lot more real."

Julian delved into the maze, and barely ten seconds later Link heard roaring, grunting, and crashes. He took off, twisting through the mazes and hoping that he didn't run into a dead end. As he reached the tunnel where he last saw Saria, he stopped as he saw yet another Moblin, holding a club instead of a spear this time, staring right at him, grinning evilly.

The Moblin laughed, and swung his club, hitting the ground. Link yelped as the shock wave hit him, throwing him off his feet. He got back up as the Moblin swung again, and this time Link counted the seconds between the club hitting and the shock wave hitting him.

 _One… two… agh!_

Three seconds. Link got up, and the Moblin swung once more.

 _One… two… Jump!_

He leapt forward, bypassing the shock wave and landing easily. He grinned, and took off towards the Moblin.

The Moblin struck the ground again and again, but each time Link jumped over the shock wave and hit the ground running. Finally, the Moblin gave up and tried to hit Link with the club, but because of the narrow corridor he could do nothing but swing it downward. Link easily passed him and swung the Master Sword, cutting open the Moblin's legs, arm, and back. As the vile, black blood of the Moblin streamed, Link screamed, jumped towards the wall, kicked off of it, and drove his sword straight into the Moblin's head.

The Moblin whimpered, then collapsed. Julian stood at the entrance to the corridor, his jaws open slightly.

"Link… that was… amazing!" He finally said. "I swear, you're getting better every day. It was really not three months ago that I met you."

"It's been seven years, you overgrown lizard. Have you been living under a rock?"

Julian laughed. "You know what I mean. Come on, let's get going."

O-0-O

As they entered the Meadow, Link looked around and was disappointed by the fact Saria was not around. She must have entered the temple.

The Triumvirate heard a thump, and turned around to see Sheik walking towards them.

"The flow of time is always cruel…" He said to them. "It's speed seems different for each person, yet no one can change it…"

He nodded towards Link and Julian. "A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days…" Link saw Julian's face darken. For the thousandth time, he wondered, _Julian, who exactly_ are _you?_

"In order to come back here," Sheik continued, "Play the Minuet of Forest." He pulled out a harp from apparently nowhere, and plucked out six notes on it. He then waited as Link and Julian pulled out their ocarinas and played them back. He nodded, then the trio began playing the Minuet of Forest together, a music that incited the same elemental feel as Saria's song, but sounded far more mystical and unusual.

"Link…" Sheik said as they finished. "I'll see you again, soon…"

"Wait!" Link said, trying to reach Sheik. The mysterious male threw something onto the ground, causing a brilliant flash. When Link could clearly see again, Sheik was gone.

Julian still had a mysterious frown upon his face, but he pointed at a nearby tree. "Link. the Temple entrance is up there, but you can't reach it alone. Try that hookshot on it, and maybe you'll reach it."

Link pulled out the hookshot, and aimed at the tree branch directly above the broken staircase. He fired it, and the metal bolt was thrown forward, and dug itself onto the tree. Then, the chains attached to the bolt started retracting, jerking Link off his feet and launching him towards the branch.

He smacked his head against it and fell, thankfully not landing onto the broken ruins but rather on the entrance.

Julian snorted. "Not bad for a first try." he said. "Come on; Saria's not going to clear these monsters up by herself."

 **A/N Personally, I really love creating the Sheik scenes. It makes me feel some kind of powerful magic that I only felt playing through Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask back when I was a wee little 4-year old.**


	20. Kokiri Temple: Paranoia

**A/N well, this is gonna be the last chapter I publish... as a kid (In America, that is. I understand there's some countries that have different limits on when your a adult). Tomorrow is going to be my 18th birthday, and man, am I excited. But enough about that, enjoy the story! this chapter really ups the seriousness of the last three arcs, and it shall continue to be that way from now on. Do send reviews about how you think of the change in tone/mood!**

 **P.S The reason why I published two chapters in one week is to make up for my eventual disappearance next week. I'm going to take a trip to some family in another state, so I won't be online through much of that week, so have a extra chapter to make up for when I don't upload next week!**

(Stats of Link: Level: 40.63 Health: 5.5 Defense: 5.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Twenty-nine hours since the Hero of Time awakened..._

Link and Julian entered a small courtyard, which may have been the front lawn of the Temple. The Temple itself appeared to be an old, nature-reclaimed mansion.

They walked forward and heard a howl. Two huge wolves appeared. Link remembered hearing about them from his lessons with the Great Deku Tree so long ago. "Wolfos." he had said. "They are the most dangerous creatures in the Lost Woods, besides the Stalfos. Avoid them at all costs. However, if thee are unable to escape from one, look for an opportunity to fend it off by hitting either its eyes or belly with something sharp."

"I got the left one!" Julian said, launching into a tooth-and-nail scuffle with the first Wolfos. The second looked carefully at the first, then glared at Link. Link ran through his strategies, then decided on one.

During the six weeks Julian was gone, back when Link was a ten year old, Link was training hard. He had developed many new skills and abilities, and this strategy was finally being put to the test.

As the Wolfos lunged at Link, he raised his shield bashed it against the head of the wolf. The Wolfos collapsed, stunned, and tried to get back up. As it did so, Link jumped forward, performing a front flip, and slashed the sword directly across the back, severing the spine and skull. As he landed back on his feet, the Wolfos collapsed, dead.

"And that's what I call the Helm Splitter." Link said proudly. He then turned to see how Julian was faring.

O-0-O

Julian was standing over the extremely wounded and bloody Wolfos. It whimpered pitifully, then dropped it's head. He knelt down next to the Wolfos and cupped it's head in his hands.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "But trust me. I'll make sure it's painless." He twisted the neck hard, hearing a sharp _crack_ as the neckbone was snapped in half, instantly killing the poor thing.

 _Three hundred fifty three..._

One more added. One more to torture him for the rest of his life. When could he finally stop this madness, this insanity?

 _You know you'll never stop._ Whispered the small voice, the one that taunted him since the first so long ago. _Never. Not until you finally die. Trust No One. Isn't that what you were told, long ago? Now look. You're on a suicide mission with a fucking kid and his faerie to stop a grown man in which you know who he'll become. You cannot change history; the kid will die. Just leave before you kill yourself as well._

He shook his head, shaking off the voice, for now. _I will return tonight_. it always did. He scanned the area, then pointed at yet another tree. "Link. if you climb those vines on the wall, you can reach the top of the tree. I think there's a key up there. Plus, I hear a Golden Skulltula. Let's get to work."

O-0-O

Link and Julian entered what was probably the ballroom of whatever mansion this temple used to be, before nature reclaimed it. Four torches lit the room, but the strange parts were that the torches were not just red, but also blue, green, and violet. In the center was a strange platform.

Before they could do anything, the torches died out, and four ghosts appeared, holding four lanterns containing the four fires. They looked at Link for a few seconds, and flew off. The platform sunk into the ground and was soon part of the floor.

"Wh-what just happened?" Link asked. Julian shushed him and held a raised finger. Link stayed silent for a minute, then heard what Julian was referring to: Laughter. Not easy, throw-caution-to-the-wind laughter that he was used to. Demented laughter, like something horrible happened and whoever was laughing was enjoying every second of it.

Julian had a deep frown. "Something's wrong…" He said. "Link… we got to keep moving!"

They went to the room opposite of where they entered, and followed it into another room. A portcullis slammed down, blocking their exit.

Two armored skeletons rose from the ground, holding swords and shields.

Without saying a word, Julian bared his fangs and attacked the left one, leaving Link to handle the right one. The Stalfos lunged, and Link sidestepped, trying to think of a strategy. Stalfos had excellent strategy, and being composed of bones and dark magic, he could cut their entire arm off and it wouldn't faze them. He would have to cut off their skull; essentially their brain. But how to do it while they were on guard?

Link then remembered the mysterious man they met in the Temple of Time and outside the Forest temple. " _Wait!" Link said, stepping towards Sheik. The mysterious young man threw something onto the ground, causing a brilliant flash, and when Link's eyes cleared up, Sheik was gone._

Of course! Sheik had been throwing a Deku Nut. Link dug through his pouch, hoping to find a Deku Nut, and found one. It was close to rotting, but the plant's preservatives worked. He threw the nut onto the ground, and scrunched his eyes closed as there was a loud _bang_ and a flash of light illuminated the area, paralyzing everyone who saw.

With the two Stalfos and Julian paralyzed, Link performed a jump slash, cleaving his Stalfos in two. He then turned around and bashed the Master Sword's handle against the other Stalfos' skull, shattering it.

Julian then unfroze, and almost slashed his claws directly into Link's gut. "Whoa! What the- Din! Link, you could have gotten killed! What in Nayru's name did you do?"

Link shrugged and held up a second Deku Nut. "I breached their defenses."

Julian sighed. "Once more, I swear you're getting better every day."

The Stalfos Julian had been fighting was holding on to another key, so Link took it and put it in his pouch along with the other one.

O-0-O

Link and Julian re-entered the main chamber, and decided to take the door immediately to their left.

After transporting another time block away with the Song of Time, they entered another courtyard, Where they climbed up onto a balcony and entered another hallway.

"Link! That's a Blue Bubble." Navi said, referring to a large skull covered with blue flames and sporting wings. "Use your shield to take out the blue flame!"

Link hefted his shield and bashed it against the skull, shattering it.

There was a small jingle, and a chest appeared in a wave of sparkles. Chalking it up to magic, Link opened the chest to find a map of the temple.

O-0-O

Eventually, they rounded back to the main chamber, killing another Golden Skulltula and finding a third key. The Triumvirate rounded over to the west door, which was locked. Link inserted the first key into the lock, and the chains binding the door fell apart. However, this also caused the key to snap in half.

"Farore!" Link swore, trying to grab at the broken half.

Julian laughed. "Don't worry." he replied. "In dungeons and temples, the keys only work once. But there is at least one key for every lock."

"Seriously, how do you know all this?" Link asked. Then, it clicked in his head.

 _He's done this before._

Julian only gave that mysterious smile of his. "I have my ways."

They crossed into the next room, which was a vast, three story room comprised of a large puzzle.

"Hey!" Navi flew out of Link's cap and flew towards the floor. "There are arrows painted on the floor!"

Sure enough, there were. Bright yellow triangles pointed through the hallway, taking a turn and ending at a dead end.

Curious, they followed them backwards and arrived at yet another dead end. "Wait." Julian said, putting a hand on the wall. He pushed, and the wall moved a small bit. He nodded. "I see. This is a block we need to push across the room, following the arrows and positioning it so we can climb onto a higher floor."

Using their puzzle-solving skills, Link and Julian pushed and pulled the block until it was at the dead end. They climbed onto another floor where the same puzzle occurred, so twenty minutes later they climbed onto the third floor of the room.

After unlocking another door (leaving them with one key left), Link and Julian walked into a twisted, warped hallway.

"Whoa…" Link breathed. Julian cocked his head, and walked forward. He reached the end of the hallway and said, "Hey Link! By gravity, This hallway is straight. Yet it's so twisted, I'm looking at you and seeing you on the left wall!"

Link walked tentatively, but Julian was right. Whatever magic was worked on this hallway, the room appeared to be straight when walking, but twisted ninety degrees clockwise from end to end.

As they entered the next room, Navi suddenly tensed. "Link… Watch for the shadows of monsters that hang from the ceiling." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

Julian gave out a breath, realizing what Navi meant. "Link, go through this room as fast as you can, and do not stop. Now." His eyes were wide.

"What?!" Link asked again.

"Now!" Julian yelled, pushing Link forward-as a loud, wet thud came from where Link just stood. He turned to see a black, gruesome, disembodied hand get up from where Link stood not seconds before and Lunge at him. Link screamed and hacked at it with his sword, not bothering to stop until it no longer twitched.

"That… that was probably for the best." Julian said.

The demented laughter continued, rising and lowering in volume.


	21. Kokiri Temple: Hysteria

**A/N Welcome back! My Spring Break went rather well. though tbh, I don't really have much to say on how things are going. Yep, my life is mostly a quiet one... Though then again, I have been trying to make progress in Tri Force Heroes. It's really hard to enjoy a multiplayer game when most people you meet are just trolling around and causing grief...**

Stats of Link: Level: 42.61 Health: 5.5 Defense: 5.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Thirty hours since the Hero of Time awakened..._

"Wha… What was that monster?" Link asked as he and Julian scurried into the next room, using their last key to do so.

"Wall Masters." Julian said, composing himself rather quickly. It was no time to let Link feel that he may not even have a chance at beating Ganondorf. "They won't harm you, but if one lands on you without warning, your heart will pretty much finish the job. Wall Masters want to delay you, by grabbing you and throwing you out of the dungeon they're assigned to. There's another variant, called Floor Masters, but those _will_ try to harm you."

Link shivered, then gripped the Master Sword. "Hey!" he exclaimed, pointing. "Isn't that one of the ghosts that stole the flame from the main chamber?" When they neared, The ghost laughed and teleported to another painting below them They climbed down the stairs to find, with dismay, that there were three paintings, so they could not corner the ghost..

"Well, there's nothing we can do to get her." Julian sighed. "The pictures are embedded into the walls, so we simply can't remove them. Fire would work, but if you use Din's Fire in here, you'll burn the whole building, and to be frank, We're still sideways. We might as well move on."

"Ah." Link cocked his head. "Wait, she?"

"Oh yeah. These are the four Poes, or ghosts, known to haunt this place. I just remembered them now that I got a closer look at this one. The red one, this one, is Joelle, the youngest one, I think."

Link followed Julian into the next room a floor below, and pulled out his shield and gripped the Master Sword when a portcullis slammed down on the door.

They appeared to be in a vast arena-like room, with a large hole leading to the room where they first met the Stalfos.

Sure enough, yet another Stalfos appeared, but Link and Julian easily dispatched it. Then, a large platform carrying two more Stalfos fell and covered the hole in the floor.

"I got the left!" Julian said, and Link nodded. Soon enough, they had dispatched both Stalfos.

They waited, but nothing happened.

Then, Julian yelped and extended his arm out, pushing Link out of the way. The stalfos had rebuilt themselves, and had tried to sneak attack them while they weren't looking. The first Stalfos' blade hit Julian's arm, but being covered in scales, the sword did not do much of anything besides denting a few of the scales.

Julian grabbed the arm holding the sword, and pulled it off. He broke the offending forearm and held the sword in his right hand. "Link!" he commanded. "Stand at my back. When I say "Three," strike your Stalfos! These two are built on a magic spell allowing them to be recreated unless we break both of them at once!"

Link nodded, and sheathed his sword and stood at Julian's back.

"One…"

Link put his left hand on the Master Sword's hilt.

"Two…"

Link gripped the hilt.

"Three!"

Link pulled the sword out, and in a swift motion, turned a full circle and slashed the stalfos from shoulder to hip with all the force he could muster.

Half the chest bones cracked, and the Stalfos collapsed, and disintegrated into flames.

"Now that," Link said, sheathing his sword in a twirly fashion. "Is the Mortal Draw."

They heard another jingle, and with a wave of sparkles a chest appeared.

Link ran over and opened it to find an old, run down bow with a quiver of thirty arrows.

"Nice." Julian commented. "This will be a good replacement for your slingshot… hey, I got an Idea! Follow me!"

O-0-O

"So… I just simply shoot the painting Joelle is in, and we'll be able to corner her?" Link asked.

"We got to try." Julian said. "Okay, hold your bow like this…"

Julian maneuvered Link's hands so he was able to nock an arrow and hold the bow correctly. For the umpteenth time, Link wondered how Julian knew all this stuff. A few minutes later, Link was able to hold the bow and nock the arrow as if he'd been practicing for years.

He saw Joelle make a face at him, so he grinned and aimed at her. Then, his hand slipped and he misfired the arrow, where it dug into the corner of Joelle's painting. She yelped and fled, accidentally burning the portrait with her lantern.

"Let me see that." Julian said, grabbing the bow. He looked it over, then nodded. "I see. There's a lot of grime on the wood, and the string isn't as taut as it should be. Once we finish this temple, we'll have to fix this bow." He handed it back to Link. "One down, two to go. Come on."

Link found Joelle and shot down the remaining portraits, and the infuriated poe fled to the bottom of the staircase.

"Hey! Quick lesson on ghosts and poes!" Navi shouted. "Since you panicked and killed Sharp and Flat before I could teach you earlier, better listen! They can be either vapor or solid. If their vapor, you can't hit them, and they can't hit you unless they're manipulating a solid object! They can't stay a vapor forever, so at some point they become visible so they can see better. If they're visible, they're tangible! So hit them!"

Link nodded and nocked an arrow, trying to not let his hand slip on the grime. He heard a slight _swoosh_ and turned to find a panicked Joelle. He shot her, and she turned invisible, and Link focused on her lantern, the one solid object she held. The lantern suddenly hurtled at him, and he rolled to the side and nocked another arrow. She appeared once more, and Link shot her between the eyes, killing the ghost once more.

She dropped the lantern, breaking it. The fire fell out, then dispersed. A torch they did not notice earlier lit up, bearing the red flame. A small chest appeared, holding another key.

"Hey!" Navi said. "That torch looks just like the one in the main chamber! Maybe… maybe that torch is lit as well?"

Julian, who had watched the battle unfold, shrugged, and the Triumvirate continued their trek through the temple.

O-0-O

They found Beth, who unfortunately initiated the same strategy Joelle had, so it wasn't very long before they defeated her and the blue fire escaped, presumably back to the main chamber. They also found the compass in Beth's room, and had forged onward until they reached a locked door. After unlocking it,they eventually found yet another locked door.

With no more keys, they trekked back to the stone block puzzle room (and thus finally returning to normal gravity), and Link found an eye switch, gold instead of silver this time. He shot it with a arrow, and they heard a deep rumbling. When they opened the door to the twisted hallway, they found that now the room was untwisted, allowing them to explore a new portion of the mansion.

"So… what's this?" Link asked, pointing to a large royal chest.

Julian perked up. "They contain a key to the most secured room in a dungeon! They only work on one door, hidden deep within a temple, and only on that door!" He opened the chest and pulled out a huge, golden key adorned with a ruby.

Link frowned. "We've been all over this temple, yet we haven't found a trace of Saria. I hope she's okay…"

He softly blew Saria's song on his ocarina, but all that answered him was the demented laughter.

O-0-O

They pushed on, killing another Golden Skulltula and finding the key they needed. They returned back to where they stopped (after having to twist the hallway again) and forged on, and had to twist yet _another_ hallway, rendering them upside down. Or right side up; it was hard to tell now.

They entered a large, checkered hallway. Link walked forward a bit, then stopped as a weird look came onto his face.

"Why is the ceiling so misshapen?" he wondered aloud.

Julian's eyes widened. "That's a-"

The ceiling collapsed, hitting the floor and flattening everything under it. Link was three inches from becoming a green and blood-red pancake.

Link's face paled. "Oh."

The ceiling rose up, and resumed its position. A few seconds later, it collapsed back onto the ground.

Julian pointed. "There's some holes in the ceiling. You can run under them to avoid getting squished. Come on, have courage!"

Link and Julian took turns running between portions of the degraded ceiling, and soon managed to cross the room without incident, save for a few close calls.

They entered another room containing Amy, the green poe's, portrait. Link sighed and shot it with another arrow, but then was surprised to see a bunch of blocks fall over.

"It's a puzzle!" Julian realized. "Clever. She must have got news of Joelle and Beth, so she's attempting to hide from us by making us solve this! Come on, Link!"

They pushed and pulled the blocks, forming a picture of what appeared to be exactly Amy's portrait. Amy then appeared, and it wasn't long before Link killed her and freed the green fire as well.

The portcullis to another door rose, and The Triumvirate entered to find themselves back in the main chamber.

"Well, that settles that." Link said. "Turns out the second twisted hallway put us upright again."

Julian gave him a bored look, then pointed at the center of the room. Three of the four torches were lit, with the red, blue, and green fires respectively. In the center of the torches, the last poe, Meg, was there, weeping.

As the door, shut, she turned to face them. "YOU!" She screamed, startling Link. "You destroyed my sisters! I hate you! I shall destroy you, if not for Ganondorf, then for my sisters!"

As she spoke the last sentence, her words seemed to be amplified by four, and by the time she finished her sentence, Link saw that she had split into four copies of herself. They then disappeared, and reappeared, surrounding Link. All four started chanting something that Link did not understand.

He yelped, and dove for the center of the room, where he could see all four clearly. He nocked an arrow and shot one, only for the arrow to go through and shatter upon the wall."Left! Your left!" Julian yelled. Link turned and fired another arrow, hitting Meg square on. She screeched, and disappeared, along with her fakes. She then appeared and circled Link, no doubt resuming her spell most likely meant to kill Link.

With Julian's sharp and trained Dragonian eyes, he was able to identify the real Meg among the three fakes, and he directed Link on which one to shoot down.

Eventually, Meg collapsed and wailed. Link felt his heart wrench a bit for this poe, who lost all that was dear to her because of him, but he steeled himself to shoot her down one last time.

Meg's lantern broke, releasing the last flame. With all four fires back to their torches, the platform that had previously sunk began to rise.

Julian looked at it. "Huh. this is a kind of Elevator, though I doubt you'd understand the word. Just jump on it and you'll see."

Link hopped onto the platform, and it began to sink once more. Link panicked a slight bit, as the walls of the elevator seemed to close in on him, but eventually it opened up into a whole new floor.

O-0-O

Solving a moving-wall puzzle and killing another Golden Skulltula, they reached a tall door with a fancy lock. Figuring the Boss Key was required for it, Julian jumped up and unlocked the door.

Like the room where they fought the last two Stalfos, this room was an arena. However, about six paintings depicting an old, creepy path surrounded them.

Link and Julian took a long look at the room, deducing that there was no one here.

"Seriously?" Link asked. "We come all this way for nothing? Where's Saria? Who's plaguing the forest with monsters?'

"Wait." Julian raised a finger. Nothing. No demented laughter, nothing to crawl through their mind.

Creeped out, they turned to leave, but then three spikes popped up over the door, blocking their exit. They turned around to suddenly find Ganondorf on top of his black steed, glowering over them and holding a scepter.

Link and Julian yelped and jumped back, getting ready for battle.

 _Now?!_ Julian thought, slightly panicking. _Did I overlook something? Ganondorf wasn't supposed to be here yet!_

Ganondorf grinned, then put his hands to his neck...

...and promptly ripped his face off.

"Holy-" Link yelped, staring at the ghostly, demonic face of another creature.

 _No… not Ganondorf. Phantom Ganondorf. Just a fake..._

Phantom Ganondorf laughed, and jumped into one of the six paintings.

"Link!" Julian commanded. "When Phantom Ganondorf appears, shoot him with an arrow!l Keep an eye on those two paintings, and me and Navi will keep an eye on the other four."

"I hate to be that guy, but it's 'Navi and I!'" Link said, but followed what Julian said.

For a few tense, seconds, nothing happened.

"I see him!" Link and Julian cried at the same time. Then, they realized there should be a fake Phantom Ganondorf somewhere, so they kept an eye on both as Link nocked an arrow.

"Mine is running away!" Link cried out, and the Triumvirate spun so Link was facing the real one. He released the arrow, which hit Phantom Ganondorf's horse in the neck. It whinnied, and turned and fled back into the painting.

They continued this strategy, and eventually Phantom Ganondorf's horse collapsed, and was consumed by blue flames. Phantom Ganondorf growled, then raised his scepter, creating a large yellowish white ball. He then pointed the scepter at Link, and the ball was thrown at the young male.

Link yelped and jumped aside, where the ball exploded upon hitting the ground, releasing a bunch of sparks and crackles.

Julian's eyes widened. _It's just like Dead Man's Volley..._

"Link!" He called over. "Hit the energy ball with the Master Sword!"

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" Link retorted.

"Look, you idiot, the Master Sword was meant to _repel evil_! Those energy balls, while looking bright as light, are the exact dark magic Ganondorf used on you back on the drawbridge of Hyrule! Hit the ball!"

Link grimaced, but held the sword like a club. Phantom Ganondorf sent another energy ball, and Link swung his sword. The ball sank into the legendary blade, then shot out a blue sphere going at a slightly faster speed, directly at Phantom Ganondorf. The phantom king let out a gasp before the ball hit him square in the chest, paralyzing him and sending him collapsing to the floor.

Link gripped his sword, readying his power. Then, he jumped, slashing Phantom Ganondorf left and right, then slammed the blade right across the phantom king.

Phantom Ganondorf screamed in pain as Link sheathed the blade, murmuring to Julian, "Jump Strike. A more powerful version of the jump slash that I developed while you were gone."

Julian nodded. "You trained well, I see."

To the surprise of both the boy and Dragonian, a purple vortex opened up in the center on the arena. Phantom Ganondorf, screaming in pain, was magically dragged into the void.

"Hey Kid, you did quite well…" came Ganondorf's disembodied voice. Link readied his sword, but Julian placed a hand on the hilt.

"He's not here." he whispered. "His voice is being magically transported. He must be back at Hyrule Castle…"

"It looks like you may be gaining some slight skill." Ganondorf continued. "But you only defeated my Phantom… when you fight the real me, it won't be as easy!" He growled. "What a worthless creature that was! I will banish it to the gap between dimensions!"

The vortex disappeared, and Ganondorf spoke no more.

"Gap between dimensions?" Link asked. "What's that?"

Julian shuddered. "You know how I said I'm not a native to this land, Link?"

He looked confused. "Yeah. So?"

He sighed. "I come not from another land, nor another country or continent, but from another universe. A dimension, if you will. There are an infinite amount of universes and dimensions, each with a unique culture and species. But between each universe and dimension is an area of blank space we dragonians call 'The Void.'"

"What's in The Void?" Navi asked.

Julian shook his head. "No one knows. No one has ventured to The Void and returned alive. A long time ago, we once had a period of time working to know what it is. However, nothing we sent in could give us any data, and nothing we sent in ever came out. The best we can conclude is that it's a void of absolutely nothing. No light, no gravity, no time and space. A place where nothing can, or ever will, exist. We can't even visualize it, as there's no light or darkness either. When we cross universes, we merely hop from one universe to another through tears in the time-space continuum, which would create a tunnel for us to pass through. We then fix the holes to not cause a paradox or allow a stray satellite from the natives to pass through by accident."

Link frowned. While he did not understand half of what Julian said, the look in his eyes suggested that whatever The Void was, it was definitely not a good place to visit.

Link picked up the Heart Container Phantom Ganondorf left behind, then he saw a small, blue portal appear.

Julian stepped into it and extended a hand to Link. "Ready? No worries, I feel Rauru's power emanating from this."

Pausing to take one last look at the creepy pictures, Link grabbed the Dragonian's hand. Blue light surrounded them, and a crystal enveloped the Triumvirate, and the three were whisked away.

O-0-O

Link floated down to find himself on the insignia of the Triforce. He looked around to see that he was in the Chamber of the Sages once more.

His attention was grabbed by the green light emanating from the green symbol in front of him. Right from the forest's insignia, Saria arose.

"Saria?" Link gasped. "We've been looking for you!"

She smiled. "Thank, you, Link. you as well, Julian and Navi." Link saw that Julian and Navi were in the same position as the last time they visited, with him sitting cross-legged and Navi on his knee.

Julian nodded, and grinned. "Pleasure doing business. You now owe me four thousand rupees."

Everyone laughed, then Saria turned to Link. "Because of you, I was able to awaken as the Sage of the Forest Temple…" she said. She smiled. "I always believed that you would come back, Link. Because I know you…"

Link opened his mouth to explain his seven year absence, but Saria shook her head. "No. You don't have to explain it to me. I already know why you disappeared, and it is Destiny that you and I can't live in the same world now…"

Link felt tears swell up in his eyes. He now lost the only friend he ever had before all this happened, before he met Julian and Navi.

Saria gave a sad smile, understanding his predicament. In his days back when Mido's bullying was considered the evilest thing alive, Saria and Link developed a strong friendship that enabled them to practically understand one another without speaking. She already understood that he didn't want this to happen, yet it happened anyways, and there was nothing Link could do about it. "I will stay here as the Sage of Forest and help you however I can…" She said. She then raised her arms. "Now, please take this medallion…"

There was a flash of green light, and a medallion matching the insignia Saria was standing on floated into Link's hands.

 _The Triumvirate received the Forest Medallion! Saria's kindness seeps into them, making them stronger!_

As Link's vision faded to white, Saria gave one last parting message.

"I will always be… your friend…"


	22. The Great Deku Tree's Secret

**A/N: [Rant] Seriously, I don't know why people are being so butthurt about the new Sonic Forces trailer. The Sonic fanbase, in true form, is complaining about Green Hill being used again and the fact that It "looks like Generations 2." Come on, guys, this was only like 40 seconds of modern gameplay and 6 seconds of Classic, and it's entirely possible that this isn't even Green Hill, but a different stage entirely that's a mix-up of Green hill and maybe Sandopolis. Plus, There is no need to complain about The Boost Gameplay. you whined about the Boost gameplay, you got Sonic Lost World. you wanted the Boost back, and now here you are with Forces, doing the exact same thing that got you Lost World; complaining about the Boost gameplay and wanting the Adventure gameplay, which you also complained about. And there's actually people who think Bubsy the Bobcat is going to be in Forces. It was a joke and is a franchise that has been dead for _over twenty years._ Now just stop acting like it's the end of the world and wait until E3 rolls around so we can actually get all this straightened out.[/Rant]  
Though all in all, do enjoy this new chapter. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?**

Stats of Link: Level: 45.45 Health: 6 Defense: 6 Magic; 24 Attack; 2 Spells: 3

 _Two days since the Hero of Time awakened..._

Link opened his eyes to find himself in the grove of the Great Deku Tree, whose deceased body was still around even after seven years.

"Man…" Julian said. "This was where it all started, huh, Navi?"'

"Yeah…" Navi replied. "Even though it's been seven years, his death is still fresh to me…"

Julian's face was downcast. "Believe me, Navi, I know what you mean. Once, long ago, I lost someone important to me as well. It has been many years-decades, in the Hyrulean calendar- since that person died, but their death still feels like a long and deep wound that will never close. But… push onward we must."

"Hey!" Link called over, pointing at a small sprout. "What is this?"

Mystified, he bowed to get a closer look-and then the sprout shot upward, bashing into Link and sending him flying back a couple of meters.

"Ow! Son of a…" Link grumbled, picking himself up.

"Hey!" Julian protested, smiling. "The tree was just born! You can't tell if it's a boy or girl yet." He looked it over. "Oh wait, it's a boy. Carry on."

"Hi there!" said the tree sprout. "I'm the Deku Tree Sprout! Because you broke the curse of the Forest Temple, I can grow and flourish! Thanks a lot!" despite all that had happened recently with the Triumvirate, the Deku Tree Sprout was awfully cheery.

"Your welcome." Link said, bowing.

"Have you seen your old friends?" The Deku Tree Sprout asked. Link shook his head. "None of them recognized you with your grown up body, did they?"

"No, sir."

"That's because the Kokiri never grow up! Even after seven years, they're still kids!"

"But… why am I an adult then? Aren't I a Kokiri as well?" Link asked.

"Really?" Julian asked Link. "All this time, and yet you never figured it out? You never had a faerie at birth. Few of the Kokiri chose to be friends with you. You grew, for crying out loud. I thought it was obvious."

"Yep!" The Deku Tree Sprout agreed with Julian. "You are not a Kokiri, Link! You are actually a Hylian! I am happy to finally reveal this secret to you!"

"But… how?" Link asked, stunned. "Don't all lost children become Skull Kids?"

"I have a story to tell you…" The Deku Tree Sprout said.

"Before the King of Hyrule had unified this country... there was a violent war. One day, to escape from the fires of the war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured... Her only choice was to entrust the child to the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world, so he took him into the forest. After the mother passed away, the baby was raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come!"

"You are a Hylian child... You were fated to leave this Kokiri Forest eventually…" The Deku Tree Sprout finished. "And now… you have learned your own destiny. That's right… you must save this land of Hyrule!"

"Oh, you don't say…" Julian muttered, then ducked as Link threw a punch at him.

"Now, Link." The Deku Tree Sprout said. "Break the curse on all the temples, and return peace to Hyrule!"

O-0-O

Before they left the forest, presumably for good, they decided to tell Mido that Saria would not come back.

"Oh… I see…" Mido said sadly as they finished explaining what transpired. "Saria won't ever come back now…"

"I'm sorry." Julian said. "We tried what we could, but… Saria has a new role to play, a role to save our world."

"But I… I… I made a promise to Saria." Mido murmured. "If Link ever came back, I would be sure to tell him that Saria was waiting for him… because Saria... really… liked... " He hardened his face. "Hey, you, mister. If you ever see a boy about my size, wearing clothes similar to yours and has gold hair and blue eyes, please let him know…" He wiped his nose. "And also… I'm sorry for being mean to him all this time. Please tell him that, too."

Link was touched by Mido's sincere apology, and was about to explain how he was Link himself. Julian laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. _You must let go of the Kokiri._ His face seemed to say. _Mido would never understand, not in a million years. You may have embraced being a Kokiri, but now it's time to embrace being a Hylian._

Link nodded and gave a sad smile. "Yeah. If I see him, I'll tell him."

O-0-O

Deciding to take a break, The Triumvirate decided to check on Lon Lon Ranch to see how everything was going. It was nighttime when they arrived.

"Who's singing?" Link asked, hearing the notes of a beautiful tune on the air.

"Whoever is singing, they have a beautiful voice." Julian said, nodding to the tune. "It's happy, yet sad at the same time…"

They walked over to the corral to find a young woman standing alone. To Link's surprise, it was Malon, the girl who taught him Epona's song long ago. His heart thumped a bit; Malon was definitely a beautiful lady.

Julian saw Link's flushed face and grinned. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I got some stuff to handle, and it'll be a lot faster if I do it alone. See ya in a few days!" He jumped and beat his wings, soon disappearing over the horizon.

Too late to argue back to Julian, Link walked over to Malon. "Hey, Malon!" He said.

She gasped and stopped singing. "P-please don't tell Mr. Ingo I sing this song!" She whimpered.

"That song?" It clicked in his head. "Oh, you mean Epona's song, right?" He quickly blew the notes on the Ocarina of Time.

"You know the song, as well as how it goes?" Malon asked incredulously. "How?"

"Don't you remember? You taught it to me seven years ago!"

She looked doubtful, but she continued. "Everyone liked that song… My dad… even Ingo…"

"Who's Ingo?" Link asked.

"He was one of our Farm hands." Malon explained. "He used to be a nice guy, but… since Ganondorf took over Hyrule, Ingo changed completely. But… I'm surprised you know Epona's song. Epona really like that song… only I could tame that horse… even Mr. Ingo failed to." She giggled.

"What's wrong with Ingo?" Link asked.

Malon's face dropped. "When Ganondorf appeared, Ingo kicked my dad out and started using the ranch to gain Ganondorf's favor…" She sniffed. "Everyone seems to be turning evil…"

Link was sure Julian would have a perfectly justifiable explanation, but Link didn't know how to comfort Malon.

"If I disobey Ingo, he will treat the horses so badly… so, there's nothing I can do about it." Malon finished.

Link grinned. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

O-0-O

"Thank you so much!" said the tall, scrawny man that was Ingo. It was daytime now, and Link just paid Ingo ten rupees for his third horse ride, was getting better at horseriding quite dramatically.

As he entered the corral, he softly blew Epona's song on the Ocarina of Time, and Epona trotted up to him.

"You're getting better!" Ingo said as Link climbed onto the horse. For all Ingo knew, Link was climbing on a completely different horse. "How 'bout a little race with me? One lap around the corral. Let's make a little wager, say… fifty rupees?"

Link agreed, even though he did not have fifty rupees. "Sure, why not?"

O-0-O

Half a minute later, Link crossed the finish line, nearly five seconds ahead of Ingo.

"Sh-shoot!" Ingo cried. Apparently he did not have the rupees himself. "One more race! If you win… you can keep… the horse!"

Link realized Ingo would not take no as an answer, so he agreed to the second race.

Once more, Link easily beat Ingo and finished with seconds to spare.

"What's up with that horse?!" Ingo cried. Then the realization struck him. "Is that Epona?! How… how did you tame that wild horse under my nose?!"

"A good chief never reveals his secrets." Link said, grinning.

"I was going to present that horse to the great Ganondorf, after his last one died a few years back… but I bet it on the race and lost! Shoot!"

He then grew a steely grin. "Well, as I promised, you can keep the horse…" He ran to the exit gate and slammed the gates closed and locked them. "However, I'll never let you leave this ranch! If you can manage to escape the ranch under my nose, I'll let you have this ranch!"

Link's smile grew. It all went according to plan. Malon told Link that even though Ingo was a good guy, he always had one weakness: gambling. "You forgot one thing, Ingo." Link said.

"And what is that?"

"In case of a Siege, three gates were built in this ranch to help one escape." Link continued, pointing to three gates on the east, west, and south ends of the ranch. "And all three… are within my reach."

As Ingo's jaw dropped at the terrible mistake he committed, Epona reared up. Link twisted in the saddle and flipped Ingo the bird, and Epona ran forward and jumped the East gate.

Something broke within Ingo, and he began to weep ever so softly.

O-0-O

Two days later, Julian finally found Link in Kakariko village, in the same building he rested in after Ganondorf's attack.

"Why is there a horse outside this building?" Julian demanded.

Link laughed. "Long story."

Julian shook his head, and dumped the fruits of his mysterious labor onto the table. "Okay, I found four more Heart Pieces, three more Golden Skulltulas, a Golden Scale, which, please thank me, allows you to dive twice as deep as before, an extra bottle, and a forty-quantity quiver. Also, I talked to Bonorru-remember the scarecrow dude?- and it turns out his brother Pierre succeeded in being able to travel the world, so if you play him that one song you made up, Pierre would come to aid us."

Link whistled. "You have been busy."

Julian shrugged. "I tend to get things done quickly. So, we're heading to the mountains now?"

"Yeah…" Navi said, coming out of Link's cap. "That cloud over Death Mountain… there's something strange about it…"


	23. Arc 5: Brothers in Need

**A/N: "Hmm.. It's Monday again… the time of day in which I glorify everyone's day by posting a new chapter…"  
*Goes to Document Upload and looks for a new chapter, but doesn't find any*  
"Uh-Oh."**

 **And thus I scramble over to google documents, look for a new chapter, copy/paste it to Microsoft Word, and then finally publish it. Yeah, this may be a sign that I need to get both me and my editor back on track for the story… already a entire semester went by, and I did jack squat on the story besides uploading new chapters.**

 **(Me: But Pokemon is a-callin' now that I cleared Alola and Kalos.)  
(Me to Me: work on the fuckin' story you procrastinating ass. You need to have the Spirit temple Arc written down by the time June rolls around)**

Stats of Link: Level: 53.41 Health: 6.5 Defense: 6.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Four days since the Hero of Time awakened..._

"Ahhh!" Link screamed.

"Watch out, watch out, watch out!" Julian yelped, tackling Link and barely dodging a boulder the size of a small building that crashed next to them.

The Triumvirate had reached the base of the Death Mountain Trail, and indeed, much had changed. The once peaceful trail was now a volcanic site, with boulders and strings of lava combating their hike across the mountain, as ash covered the sky, giving it a midnight look even though it was midday. If there was one thing that defined Death Mountain, this was it.

"Hey!" Navi cried. "Look! There's a Magic Bean plant that you planted here seven years ago!"

"How in Nayru's name did that grow here?!" Link demanded, getting up.

"Don't question it! Just get on it!" Julian exclaimed, pointing at yet another boulder that was crashing towards them.

Link yelped and jumped onto the plant, and the magic took hold as the bean plant rose up, coasted along more treacherous trailways, and finally stopped at the entrance to Goron City.

"Whew! That was close." Julian panted, settling down next to Link. "Flying in the ash-covered sky is dangerous, as you never know when a boulder or a plume of lava is coming around."

They entered Goron city, giving thanks to the previous generations of Gorons for building a strong, sturdy city in case the volcano were to as they entered the square of the city, they realized that no one was around.

"Where is everybody?" Link asked. Navi settled into Link's cap as the young man and Dragonian looked around.

"Hmmm…" Julian mused. "Usually they don't go into the crater until early winter, but since it's mid-summer…" he blinked. "Hey, there's a Goron over there!" He pointed over to a small Goron, who looked as if he had cried earlier.

Julian went over to the Goron. "Hey, where is-"

The Goron gasped. "You! You must be one of Ganondorf's minions! You'll never get me!" He curled into a ball and rolled straight towards Julian. Startled, he jumped out of the way.

"Farore!" He hissed. "Son of a… wait. That wouldn't work very well…"

Link chuckled. "So... Gorons are stronger than rock, right?"

Julian nodded. "Yeah. even a bomb blast to the face would merely stun a goron. It's why they're experts at harvesting bomb flowers."

Link nodded. "Sweet. I have an idea!" as the young Goron rolled towards Link, the Hylian pulled out a bomb and lit it with a piece of flint he found somewhere along the mountain trail.

Link threw the bomb directly in front of the Goron, and with a bang the young Goron was sent careening, and crashed into the wall.

"How could you do this to me?!" he cried. You, you two are Ganondorf's minions! Hear my name and tremble! My name is Link! Hero of the Gorons!"

Link blinked slowly. "Wh-what? That's my name!"

Julian flew back to Link. "That, plus we're not Ganondorf's minions. You probably assumed that by seeing me, but apparently you must have completely forgotten that we saved your entire race seven years ago." He added.

The Goron's eyes widened. "Then you two must be the legendary Dodongo buster and heroes! My dad is Darunia...do you remember him?"

Julian nodded. "Darunia, yeah. He gave us the Goron's Ruby as a reward for opening up Dodongo's Cavern and clearing it out." He grimaced as if remembering something foul, but said nothing else.

The Goron nodded. "Dad named me after you, Link, because you're so brave! It's a cool name! I really like it!"

"Oh, um… thanks?" Link replied, confused and surprised.

"Link, you're a hero to us Gorons! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Okay, look, Link-I mean, Link-Goro if I call you that?" Without waiting for a reply, Julian continued. "Where is everybody? Why has the volcano been acting so dangerous?"

"Oh…" Link-Goro admitted quietly. "You've got to help everyone! A dragon kidnapped everyone except me and my dad, and my dad went to the Fire Temple to defeat the dragon! You got to help him!"

Link raised an eyebrow at Julian, and the Dragonian chuckled. "My species isn't native to Hyrule, Link." he replied. "That's why no one, not even Zelda, recognized me. This kiddo is talking about the big, fearsome dragons that the Kokiri tell you about in their faerie tales."

"Please!" Link-Goro sobbed. "If you don't hurry up, even my dad will be eaten by the dragon!" His sobbing took over, and he didn't continue.

"What is this dragon?" Link asked. Julian shot him a glare, but was surprised when the young goron started talking.

"A long time ago, there was this evil dragon named Volvagia living in this mountain. That dragon was very scary! He ate Gorons!"

"Sounds a lot like Julian." Link teased. Julian whipped his tail forward, and Link nimbly jumped over the tail, but then Julian whipped the tail around and hit Link in the stomach..

As Link gathered his breath, Link-Goro continued. "Using a big hammer, the Hero of the Gorons… BOOM!" He emphasized by picking up a large rock and bashing it against the ground, shattering it. "Destroyed it just like that. This is a myth from long ago, but it's true! I know, because me and my dad are descendents of the Hero!" Link seemed to have calmed down Link-Goro, but both the Hylian and Julian knew one wrong sentence could send him into hysterics again.

"Where's the other Gorons?" Julian asked carefully.

"Everybody was taken to the Fire Temple…" Link-Goro sniffed. "While me and my dad were out, Ganondorf's followers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Ganondorf revived Volvagia... as a warning to those who might oppose him, Ganondorf is going to feed them all to Volvagia!"

The sickness Link felt since he discovered what Ganondorf did to Hyrule grew worse. The Gorons were at risk of extinction because of him and Julian.

"Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try and save everyone…" Link-Goro finished. "Please help, Link and Julian!"

Julian nodded. "I'd be glad to, but there's a slight problem." Julian mused. "Having lived in a temperate forest all his life, there's no way Link will be able to survive the heat in the heart of a live volcano…"

Link-Goro lifted his head. "I have an idea!" He said. "Follow me!"

O-0-O

It should be around here somewhere…" the young Goron mused, rummaging through the Goron store, located almost next to Darunia's room. "Ah, here we are!" He pulled out a red tunic similar to Link's green one, except this was a bit larger.

"Nice." Julian noted. "Mineral Wool. but how did you guys come across such a material?"

"Dad said we once had humans mine the areas around here." Link-Goro said. "This may be bit large for Link, but it should do."

"Thanks!" Link said. He took the clothing and went over to the next room to change.

"You know, it just occurred to me." Julian noted to Link-Goro. "How does he survive in those clothes? Seven years ago, he was wearing the Kokiri's Tunic for over two months. It must be hell for him to change from one tunic to another."

"Um… guys?" came Link's voice. "I think my tunic is stuck to my back."

Julian sighed.

O-0-O

The Death Mountain Crater was indeed hot, but thanks to Link's new Goron Tunic, It now felt like late spring.

They were halfway across a metal bridge ("Tungsten." Julian remarked), when a familiar ally dropped in on them.

"It is something that grows over time… a true friendship." Sheik said, jumping down from who-knows-where and walking the second half of the bridge to them. "A feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time…"

Sheik nodded at the two, referring to their history. "The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power, and through it, you will know which way to go…" _Why did his tone seem to be referring more to Julian?_ Link wondered.

Sheik pulled out his harp. "This song is dedicated to the power of the heart… Listen to the Bolero of Fire." He plucked out eight notes really quickly as Link and Julian got their ocarinas. He paused, then played the eight notes once more. Within moments Link, Julian, and Sheik were playing the Bolero of Fire, which brought to mind the fires of the heart.

"Link… I'll see you again…" Sheik said as they finished, backing away.

"Wait!" Link cried, but then there was a rumble and a blast of fire cut between Link and the mysterious sheikah. "Why are you following me?"

But Sheik as already gone.

O-0-O

With Sheik's newest song fresh in their mind, Link and Julian continued onward until they found the entrance to the Goron Temple, located deep within the crater. Julian laid a hand on Link's shoulder.

"Link, I am going to entrust to you a very guarded secret of us Dragonians." He said. "Our evolution has made us prime predators, with very few weak-points that are very difficult to hit. Volvagia may not be that different, so do know that the weakest points of dragons are located at our armpits, wingskin, eyes, and skull." He pointed to the respective areas. "However, if Volvagia is one of those dragons with no wings and is very nimble, you have to shatter his skull or shoot his eyes. And if I were you, I'd go with the former."

Link understood why Julian was hesitant about this. Julian basically gave Link a edge over the Dragonian, telling him how a Dragonian can get killed. It was a true sign of trust to hand someone the knowledge of how to kill them.

Link nodded, then grimaced. This temple had some kind of horrid chanting emanating from inside, causing the same, if not a worse, psychotic effect as the demented laughter of the Kokiri Temple.

"Well… here we go." Link said grimly.


	24. Goron Temple: Chanting

**A/N well, I really don't have much to go on about this time XD so enjoy the story!**

Stats of Link: Level: 54.26 Health: 6.5 Defense: 6.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Five days since the Hero of Time awakened..._

The chanting was now far louder, even though they were just in the first room. Three doors were immediately obvious, but one led to a dead end and the other was locked. By silent agreement Link and Julian went through the only unlocked door that lead somewhere.

"Hey!" Navi said as the door shut. "Isn't that Darunia?"

Sure enough, across a pit of lava and in front of a large door was the leader of the Gorons. At Navi's voice, he spun around and squinted through the heat waves. "Link? Julian? Is that you?" He waded a few steps into the magma and his eyes widened. "It really is you two! Link, you've grown so big since I last saw you! I'd like to have a man to man talk with you two, but now's not the time! Ganondorf is causing trouble on Death Mountain again!"

"We already know." Julian said. "Your son told us."

"Oh, so you met Link? He's a good boy. I actually met this-"

"Not now!" Link said. "Time is of the essence!"

"Right, right." Darunia pinched his eyes closed for a moment. "If Volvagia escapes from Death Mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland! I have to try to seal the dragon once more… even though I do not have the legendary hammer…" He sighed. "I have no choice. Like you said, time is of the essence. Link, Julian… as my Sworn Brothers, I ask of you… While I deal with Volvagia, please save my people! Most of the prisoners are in the opposite room, but there is one in here. I'm counting on you!"

He entered the doorway and shut it. Immediately, shackles similar to the ones found in the door leading to Phantom Ganondorf appeared on the door, locking it.

Link hookshoted towards the first cage, where one Goron was pleading to no one for mercy.

"Please don't eat me!" Whimpered the Goron obliviously as they approached. "If you eat me, I'd give you a stomach ache!"

"It's actually true." Julian whispered to Link. "They got a chemical in them that's poisonous to predators. That, plus their skin is as hard as rock." He turned to regard the Goron. "We're actually here to save you." He looked around and found a small switch near the door, too far for the Goron to reach it on his own.

Pressing the switch down opened the door, allowing the Goron to exit.. "I'm free to go?" he asked. Julian nodded. "Thank you! I'll tell you a secret. See that stalactite over there?" he pointed at a large pillar of stone in the center of the room. "If you want to follow Darunia, You must do something about it."

O-0-O

After finding a key in the prison cell, they escorted the Goron out and entered the next room, crossing another tungsten bridge, fighting off several Keese, moving a time stone, getting a Golden Skulltula, and rescuing two more Gorons.

They soon entered a much smaller room, which held a grated fence and a small pool of magma. A flare of fire shot out every few seconds, which had cut a hole into the ceiling.

"Hmm… so it seems we need to ride the flare to the next floor…" Julian mused.

"What do you mean?" Link exclaimed. "This tunic is heat-resistant, not fire-proof!"

He pointed to one of the two towers. "Guess what you're riding, then."

Link looked up to see a stone block-probably the cut portion of the ceiling- resting on the tower. Julian flew up and pushed it onto the magma pool. When the flare shot out, the block flew through the hole without any complications, then fell back onto the pool.

"Well? You going to climb on?" Julian asked with a goddess-forsaken grin.

O-0-O

"Oh dear Nayru…" Link whimpered. After the harrowing experience with the block (nearly losing his fingers and head in the process), They entered yet another maze. Boulders were all over, magically turning and following a patrol route.

"Come on." said Julian, jumping to the top of the maze. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we'll be done."

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Who said I was? Lies! Lies and slander!" they both cracked up at that.

"Ho boy…" Link sighed as they finished laughing.

They ran through the maze, with Julian keeping an eye out for any incoming boulders and guiding Link through the maze. They rescued two more Gorons, but there was one particular event that stuck in Link's mind.

"Wait a minute." Julian dropped down onto the floor and knocked on a specific section of the wall. "Link, place a bomb over here. I think it's a fake wall."

"Okay… why?"

"Listen here." He knocked on the wall, then moved a few feet and knocked again. Link was surprised to hear that the two knocks sounded different. He placed a bomb on the wall Julian first knocked on, then lit it. As the bomb exploded, so did the wall, revealing a small alcove with a Golden Skulltula.

 _How did he know that?_ Link wondered.

O-0-O

"Careful here, Link." Navi advised. As they finally entered a new room. There was a small platform that stretched from one room to the other. "If you fall down, you'll land back in the Magma chamber"

They pushed on, finding a map of the temple and reaching a room with more magma, but with a grated floor for them to cross.

"Well, this isn't so-" Link began, but then a wall of fire erupted and started advancing on the Triumvirate.. "Farore!"

With Julian and Navi stuck on the other side, Link ran across the grating and reached the next room, which was the upper portions of the maze.

Link was starting to freak out, as the temple seemed to be _trying_ to kill him, and the ominous chanting wasn't helping his unsettled brain.

He then heard a Goron voice emanating from below, and Link wondered if Julian found a hollow wall, maybe there was a hollow floor as well. He crouched to the floor, using the same tactic the Dragonian did until he heard a hollow sound, then placed a bomb and blew the floor up. Climbing down, he reached yet another Goron, and rescued him from his cage.

"Thank you, goro!" the Goron exclaimed. "Let me help you. Somewhere in this temple, there are fiery creatures that dance as they attack. You have to use our special crop, bombs, to defeat them! That's all I know."

"I see. Thank you for your wisdom." Link replied as the Goron fled the temple.

When he climbed back to the top parts of the maze, he found Julian and Navi. "There you are," the Dragonian said, giving a toothy grin. "We found two more golden Skulltulas while you rescued that Goron. Come on, let's go now. We still have much to do."

O-0-O

They soon entered a large chamber, complete with Fire Keese and numerous fire-related traps.

"Hey, you can see down from here…" Navi noted, flying to a small grating. "Wait a second. Isn't that the room where we met Darunia?"

Sure enough, far below was the room where they met Darunia and saved the first Goron.

They navigated through the room slowly, avoiding any traps and taking out the Keese. Eventually, they found another fake wall, and blew it up to bring themselves into a small arena.

As they entered, a ring of fire erupted from the center of the room. A small, black orb covered in flames that resembled the shape of a dancer jumped out.

"Flare Dancers!" Julian exclaimed. "You got to extinguish their flaming clothes to attack them…"

Link pulled out his bow, but then remembered what the Goron said not too long ago: _Somewhere in this temple, there are fiery creatures that dance as they attack. You have to use our special crop, bombs to defeat them!_

Link pulled out a bomb and threw it at the Flare Dancer. The force of the blast sent the small orb sprawling, where it tried to flee back into the ring of fire.

"I don't think so." Julian growled, pouncing on the orb and tearing it in half.

 _Three hundred fifty three..._

The fire died down, and through a form of some kind of magitech, a portion of the ceiling came down, acting as an elevator to the top floor.

O-0-O

On the topmost portion of the temple, there was a spiralling staircase that led to a chest. However, it was a dangerous go: the staircase was tin, and a wall of flames surrounded the chest. To kill the flames, a switch had to be held down. By simple logic, Link could hold down the switch while Julian opened the chest. However, Julian refused.

"I can sense magic in that chest." He explained."Bad magic. Horrible for dragons."

Link grumbled and crawled his way up the staircase, minding the cheerful warning written on the map that if he fell, he would have a grisly death on F3.

He finally reached the chest and pried it open. Inside was a hammer, far too heavy for Link to hold with one hand. He tried with both his hands and found that he could lift it, though barely. On the handle, the name was printed: _MegaTon._ Link grinned.

"Hell yeah."


	25. Goron Temple: Prayers

**A/N Sorry for the rather late update… something rather bad happened over the weekend, and as a result I was unable to work on my story for the last couple of days (long story short, my dad had to go to the hospital for some chronic tissue, and the doctors weren't sure if he was going to make it…) Bright side, he's home now, but is awaiting surgery. So as it is, the only happy news I have is that I caught a shiny Wurmple in platinum. Yay, I guess?**

Stats of Link: Level: 57.67 Health: 6.5 Defense: 6.5 Magic: 24 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Five days since the Hero of Time Awakened…_

The Triumvirate managed to return to the third floor safely, with Link toting his newfound weapon. They rescued another Goron, but the switch was far too rusted to be pushed down normally.

"I have an idea!" Link said giddily, smashing the Megaton Hammer against the switch. An earth-shattering bang erupted, flattening the switch and causing the gate to creak open.

"Thank you for rescuing me!" Exclaimed the Goron. "I'll mention this: A door is hidden inside a small statue near the entrance to the temple. Bombs won't destroy it… you'll need something stronger."

He left, with Julian and Link going in another direction. They re-entered the chamber full of fire-themed traps, and stopped at the grating Navi mentioned earlier.

"So how do we get back to the first floor?" Navi asked, referring to all the times they nearly got killed just to reach this room.

"Problem solved." Link said, smashing the Megaton hammer against the floor, tearing it from its foundations. The floor fell all the way down back to the first floor, in the room where they met Darunia.

"… I hope that… thing… isn't going to be your answer to everything." Julian said shakily.

Link only cackled.

Back at the entrance, Link found the statue and obliterated it with his Megaton Hammer, revealing a door previously undiscovered.

O-0-O

They went through several more rooms, taking out another Golden Skulltula as well as another Flare Dancer (this time Link squashed it with the MegaTon hammer, making Julian whimper).

"A-are you r-releasing me?" asked the last Goron. "A-am I free to go n-now?"

"No and Yes." Link said, earning him a whack upside the head from Julian's tail. "Okay, fine. Yes to both. Darunia asked us to rescue you all. I think you're the last one now."

"Oh, I see." The Goron replied. "I owe you big time! Volvaggia is weak to MegaTon and only that alone. Please help Big Brother! We are praying for you!" He handed the Boss Key to Link, then hightailed it back to Goron City.

They returned to the room where they met Darunia, and stood in front of the door in which he went through.

"Ready?" Julian asked. "We're going up against a dragon. They are the second most fearsome and destructive creatures in all of existence. You must be on your guard at all times."

Link nodded grimly, then paused. "Second most fearsome? What is the most fearsome species?"

Julian's eyes dimmed with sadness. "That is for you and you alone to find out. Come on, let's go."

O-0-O

The Boss Arena was large, yet there was no one in sight.

"Darunia?" Link called, fearful for his Goron friend.

Julian frowned. "There's no sign of a battle." he said, his tail twitching in worriment. "Strange…"

They leap onto the main arena, then heard a rumble. Of the nine molten holes scattered throughout the platform, the middle one began to foam. Then, a wingless, snake-like dragon wearing a molten helmet bursted out of the hole, roaring at them as it flew through the sky through some kind of magic.

"That's Volvagia, the Subterranean Lava Dragon!" Julian cried out.

"Congratulations!" Link shouted back over Volvagia's roaring. "Now how do I defeat him?!"

Volvagia released a blast of fire, and the duo dodged. The fire blast carried on, melting the platform they stood on not seconds ago.

"Do you _not_ remember what I told you before we even entered the temple?!"

"Well, he doesn't seem to have wings, so-oh, right." Link sarcastically pointed at the head and eyes. "Now how do I get him down here?!"

With another roar, Volvagia slammed into one of the lava pools, splashing magma around and causing the ground to shake.

"That answer your question, boyo?"

They waited, Link with MegaTon ready. When they saw another hole start to foam, Link ran over and smashed the legendary hammer against Volvagia, shattering his igneous helmet. The dragon roared, then dove back into the lava. It came out almost immediately after, with magma forming a new bit of armor onto it's head.

"I see now!" Link and Julian said at the same time. They looked at each other, then both continued. "Volvagia's helmet needs to be reforged to keep the dragon's head from becoming stuck into the helmet! It has to come down eventually!"

There was another rumble, and small boulders came from above. Both the Dragonian and Hylian screamed and dove out of the way,

"Volvagia's trying to make the place come crashing down!" Julian exclaimed. "Has he gone berserk?!"

The raining boulders subsided, and Volvagia came back down. Julian faced Volvagia and screamed some words Link couldn't make out nor understand, but it proved to no avail as Volvagia roared, sending another blast of fire that engulfed the Dragonian.

When it subsided, Julian was now a shade darker and smoking. "Well." he said. "Negotiations failed." He coughed a bit.

Link waited for the subterranean lava dragon to reappear from one of the lava pools, and when he saw foam appear, he raced over- only for Volvagia to appear from another hole and nearly bite him. "Yikes!" Link jumped backward, barely avoiding the dragon's jaws.

Volvagia roared, and out of desperation, Link shot an arrow, hitting Volvagia right in the eye. The dragon stopped, stunned, and Link rammed Megaton once more into the dragon. The lava, having not yet cooled, gave away without even absorbing a joule of the hammer's energy, and Volvagia's skull was shattered.

The dragon roared, and collapsed into the pool. A few seconds later it rose out again, thrashing as it's body burned.

"Oh, that is not pretty." Julian remarked, averting his gaze.

The volcano's fire consumed Volvagia, leaving nothing behind but a charred corpse of scales and the burnt remains of his skeleton. The remains of his skull revealed yet another Heart Piece, which Link scooped up. He noticed that Julian had a trail of silver tears on his face, but his face was stone-hard.

Julian noticed Link looking at him, then wiped his face. "I'm sorry." He said. "It's just… well, nevermind. I'm worried about Darunia. Come on, let's get going." He bent for a moment, and Link saw him pick up one of Volvagia's scales.

As he spoke, another Blue Portal appeared, which they then stepped into.

O-0-O

Meanwhile in Kakariko, everyone was watching Death Mountain as it violently erupted. Even though they were at the base of the mountain, they were completely safe from debris. That did not mean people were unafraid that they might die. Some clung to whatever shred of hope they still had, hoping this was a normal eruption.

Others had already ended their misery once and for all.

To those that still clung to hope, they saw an immediate change in the mountain. A vortex ripped into the sky, sucking in the fiery cloud as well as the ash clouds. For the first time in seven years, the skies of Hyrule were blue.

O-0-O

The Triumvirate appeared once more in the Chamber of the Sages, though this time they were facing the red platform. There was a red glow, and Darunia rose from the platform. "Thank you, Brother!" He exclaimed with a smile. "I really appreciate what you did. I thank you on behalf of the entire Goron race. You turned out to be a real man, just like I thought you would!"

Link grinned and Navi nudged Julian. The dragonian laughed. "Okay, I admit. Link can be a real man." He said, grinning.

"By the way…" Darunia continued. "I, the wild Darunia, turned out to be the great Sage of Fire… Isn't that funny, Brother? Well, this must be what they call Destiny…"

Link heard a hiss, and he turned to find Julian's face in a twisted snarl. Something angered him about that word, Destiny...

"Nothing has made me happier than helping you fulfill your goal, Julian." Drunia said. "Take this. This is a medallion that contains the power of the fire spirits-and my friendship."

He held his hands out wide, and there was a large flash. A red medallion similar to that of the red pedestal appeared in Link's hands.

 _The Triumvirate received the Fire Medallion! Darunia's Strength seeps into them, making them stronger!_

"Don't forget… you and I are now True Brothers!" Darunia sad as everything went white.


	26. Sequential Connections

**A/N well, things are starting to calm down around our household after what happened last week, so I can finally get started on finishing this story. However, it's now entirely possible that I can't stay punctual, and thus delays could happen. For the first three arcs, it took around 6 months to create. Arcs 4-6 took around 6 months as well, though most of the time was me screwing around with my laptop and Wii system, taking a break from school. After I got that done, I actually done pretty little on Arc 7 and more or less took a break from writing, but I think it's time for me to get back onto it. So, by theory, I can finish the drafts for the whole story by November, which will be the 1 year anniversary of this story. Huh. Better get a move on, then.**

Stats of Link: Level: 59.38 Health: 7 Defense: 7 Magic: 28 Attack: 2 Spells: 3

 _Five days since the Hero of Time Awakened..._

"Wow…" Link breathed, looking up at the sky. Even though Death mountain was still active, the sky was now a pure blue.

"Hey Link." Julian said, prodding him with a hand. "Now that most of the ash is gone, I can sense a bit of magic over in that direction. Maybe there's another Great Faerie living there?" He pointed towards a section of the Crater.

Link travelled over there, smashing a rock with MegaTon to reveal a entrance to another fountain. After playing Zelda's Lullaby on the fountain's base, yet another Great Faerie appeared.

"Welcome, Link!" the Great Faerie said. "I am going to enhance your magic power. Receive it now!" She spread her arms out, and the same orbs from their first visit to the Great Faerie next door appeared, entering Link. The buzzing in his veins doubled, and his senses were twice as acute.

"When battle has made you weary, please come back to me!" the Great Faerie said, laughing as she disappeared back into the fountain's pool.

O-0-O

Link and Julian scaled back down the mountain, killing two more Golden Skulltulas and re-entering Goron City to speak to Link-Goro.

"Brother Link! Brother Julian!" Link-Goro said as they approached. "Everybody has come back! You and dad must have destroyed the dragon together, didn't you? When I grow up, I want to be a strong man like you, Link!

"Um… about that…" Julian began hesitantly. "Darunia isn't coming back. He's a special person called a Sage."

He then told Link-Goro all that occurred.

O-0-O

Even though the young Goron was upset about the recent news, he offered them a place to rest for the night. They declined, as any bed they could scrap together would be as hard as rock, and by dusk they arrived at Kakariko.

The Triumvirate revisited the Skulltula house, checking on the residents. All the man's children had been freed of the curse, but the father himself was still partly Skulltula.

"Thank you for saving my kids." He said sadly. "It's okay, though… don't worry about me. You have already destroyed enough of the Spiders of the Curse. You don't need to worry about me… I'm just happy my kids have another chance at life."

Link, who had already felt sorry for this man, felt his heart break. This was a man who had been cursed for so long, and had given up hope simply because there were too many tokens to cure him. Link swore to himself that he would hunt down every last Golden Skulltula, and eradicate them all.

O-0-O

Deciding to check in for the night, The Triumvirate headed for a nearby inn, and met Maria.

Hey!" Maria said, catching up to Link as the rays of sunset were fading. "Um… Link, I wanted to say I managed to breed a new type of Cucco, called a pocket Cucco! I don't even get allergic reactions from them!"

"That's really cool!" Link replied. He then frowned and bent down, picking up one of the so called Pocket Cuccos. "Why does this one look unhappy?"

Maria bit her lip. "Oh yeah… Cuccos are very good at waking lazy people up. This one is unhappy because he has not met any such person… I know you're on a adventure to save Hyrule, but do you think you could find a lazy person on your travels and make this Cucco happy?"

Link wasn't sure if he could care for it, but Julian took it. "No worries." He said, a slight grin on his face. "I know just who to look for."

O-0-O

"Come on, Julian. At least tell me how you knew Talon was here." Link said as they approached a Inn near the middle of the village.

The Dragonian grinned, raised a claw, and winked. "I have my ways."

Link glanced at the Inn's door, then frowned. "You just read the occupants list, didn't you?"

"Yes. Yes I did."

They walked in, and located the farmer in a corner of the building. Julian held up the Pocket Cucco, who was eyeing Talon with excitement. Knowing it's time has come, the Pocket Cucco ruffled it's feathers, breathed in, then crowed as loud as it could.

"What in tarnation?!" Talon yelped, shooting to his feet. "Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?!"

"You slept all day." muttered a nearby occupant.

"And nearly all of yesterday." replied a second.

Talon noticed the Dagonian. "What in Farore's mind are you?!"

"Yeah… I'm a something called a Dragonian. We actually met before, but I used a little bit of… magic… to disguise myself."

"You realize you made it sound like you do gruesome rituals." Link murmured to his Dragonian friend. Then to Talon, "By the way, we saved the ranch a while ago, so I guess you can head back over there now."

"Really?" Talon looked ecstatic. "Thanks! I'll head back to the ranch then!"

O-0-O

Their long day was finally over. For the first time in seven years, Julian went to sleep, allowing Link do do what he pleased in the morning.

Link returned the Pocket Cucco to Maria, who happily took back the Cucco. "Thank you!" she said. "I should reward you somehow. Umm…" She blinked with realization, then ran back into the house. She then returned with a Blue Cucco, wincing as goosebumps appeared along her arms. "This baby here is known as Cojiro, and his blue feathers make him charming and cute! However, he used to belong to my brother, who went missing in the Forbidden Forest a few days back… since then, Cojiro has refused to crow to anyone."

Link took the cucco with curiosity. He heard of Maria's brother a few times, a skinny man who shunned his family as well as sunlight. He had only appeared during the nighttime in Kakariko, and refused to talk politely to anyone who came by.

"I'll see what I can do." He told Maria.

O-0-O

When Julian was fully rested the next day, they headed towards the Lost Woods in search of Maria's brother. Having learned the secret of the forest, they were able to track their location and figure a way out if they were lost.

Three days later, they finally found Maria's brother. Cojiro, who had only opened his mouth to eat and drink (and even then very rarely), suddenly perked and crowed on Link's shoulder.

The man woke with a start, and his eyes snapped to Cojiro. "Cojiro?" he asked weakly. "Why? Only nice guys can tame you…" his eyes lit up with realization. "Which means... you two! You must be nice guys!" He then crawled to Julian and pressed something into his hands. "Please. Mr. Nice guy! Please! Deliver this stuff to the old hag in the Potion Shop in Kakariko! Her building is located next to the Windmill! Unless the proper ingredients are added, it will rot in three days! You gotta hurry!"

Julian nodded grimly, and Link recognized the orange mushroom in his claws. "That mushroom is the only way we can cure him!" he realized. "He's cursed by the Lost Wood's dark magic! We have to hurry, Julian! " He pulled out his Ocarina to perform a warp song, but Julian stopped him. "No. Warp songs can easily transport us between areas in Hyrule, but it can do unpredictable things to perishable items. We could make it spoil or disappear altogether!" Together, the two ran as fast as they could to Kakariko.

O-0-O

By the end of the second day, they managed to find the Potion shop in Kakariko. The old woman living there knew the whole situation immediately, just by looking at the mushroom in Julian's hand.

"That bum…" she muttered under her breath. "He had to go to the forest… bring it to me now!"

Within a few hours, she came back with a reddish-orange slime in a flask. "If you see that fool, give this to him." She said. "It's the strongest medicine I have ever produced. However, it will not work if he has already turned into a monster…"

O-0-O

Within another two days, they finally reached back to where the man was. However, The man and Cojiro were gone, and in their place was one of the girls Link knew back in his Kokiri days.

"The guy isn't here anymore." She said in a strangely calm and flat voice. "Anybody who comes into the forest will be lost. Everybody will become a Stalfos. Everybody. Stalfos. So, he's not here anymore. Only his saw is left."

With crushing realization, Link realized that all those Stalfos he battled in the Forest temple were some unfortunate adult who strayed into the woods, likely to find their children.

The Kokiri girl noticed the flask on Link's hip. "That medicine is made of Forest Mushrooms. Give it back!"

Reluctantly, Link exchanged the flask of potion for the man's saw, then the Triumvirate went back to Kakariko to tell Maria of the bad news.

O-0-O.

By dawn of the day after next, They returned to Maria to give her the bad news. After telling her her brother was now dead, they tried to give her the saw he left behind. "No." she muttered, looking at the saw with a blank look. "That's a carpenter's saw, which I'll have no use for. My Father will want it, though. He's on his way to fix a bridge in Gerudo Valley."

They bid her farewell, and left Maria to her grief.

O-0-O

Near the edge of Gerudo Valley, Link (riding Epona) and Julian found the carpenters. Navi, already restless from their eleven days of fetch-quests, flew out of Link's cap and hailed the carpenters as Link caught up to them.

Navi had explained everything to the head carpenter, and when Link showed him the saw, he confirmed it was his. "That's my saw! But I thought I left it with my old lady before the last job on the windmill… Oh well. Yesterday, my Biggoron tool broke, and I needed it to fix the bridge. That saw can just as easily get the job done, though. You coming here was great timing! May I have it back?"

Link, having no need for the saw, agreed and handed it to him. "Good kid! Thank you! I'm sorry I can't give you anything as great in return, but It's dangerous for you two to go alone, so take this." He handed Link the broken Biggoron tool.

Thanks!" Link called as the carpenters went towards their destination. After they were out of earshot, he turned to Julian and asked, "So… what now?"

"Can we please move on to the next sage?" Navi asked. "We already wasted nearly two weeks…"

"Patience, Navi." Julian said. "I have a feeling this is gonna come back at some point, and we'll be grateful we did all this. Let's check with the Gorons and see if they can repair this."

O-0-O

Link and Julian played the Bolero of Fire, warping the Triumvirate to the Death Mountain Crater. They spoke to Link-Goro about the Biggoron tool, and they learned that it was actually a sword, created and named after the Legendary Ironworker known as Biggoron.

They then travelled to his supposed location, only to learn it was Biggoron's shop, run by Medigoron. He told them that Biggoron, as he was too large to fit in the city, lived near the peak. They then went and climbed back to the peak of the mountain.

"Biggoron!" Link shouted. "We have a request for you!" As he finished, there was a large rumble, like an earthquake was commencing.

"Holllllyyyyy Farorreeeeeeee…." Link said slowly as a Goron nearly half the size of the mountain sat up, rubbed his eyes, then squinted at the Triumvirate.

"Hey there." Julian said in a loud voice so Biggoron could hear. "We have a Biggoron tool that we'd like to get fixed." He flew up and showed the broken sword to him.

"That broken knife is surely my worrrrrrrrk…" Biggoron said, having a slur on the r's. "I really want to repairrrrrrr it, but… because of a recent errrrrrrrruption, my eyes are irrrritated. There are fine eyedrops in Zora's Domain… you will find them if you speak to Kinnnnnnnng Zorrrrrrra. PLease go get the eyedrrrrrrrrrops…"

"I see…" Julian said. "Well, since Zora's Domain is the next place for us to visit, we'll check on King Zora for the eyedrops. Ready, guys?"

"Finally." Navi muttered. "We wasted enough time as is."

O-0-O

Two days afterwards, they finally arrived at the base of the river.

Link shivered, and Navi flew out of his cap to see why it was cold. "Strange…" she murmured. "An Arctic wind is blowing from Zora's domain… Do you feel it, Julian?"

He frowned. "I definitely feel the temperature dropping, but this doesn't make sense. We're too far south on the planet for snow to arrive on midsummer...

They climbed the river, feeling the temperature drop rapidly. Clouds began to cover the sky, and when they reached the entrance to Zora's Domain, a blizzard was underway.


End file.
